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Union Calendar No. 176. 

61 st Congress, I HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, j Report 

8d Session. _ -j 923 , 


RAILROAD BILL. 


April 1 , 1910.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
the Union and ordered to be printed. 


Mr. Mann, from the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce^ 

submitted the following 

REPORT. 

[To accompany H. R. 17536.] 

The Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, to which was 
referred the bill (H. R. 17536) to create an interstate-commerce court 
and to amend the act entitled “An .act to regulate commerce,” ap¬ 
proved February 4, 1887, as heretofore amended, and for other pur¬ 
poses, beg leave to report the bill back, with certain amendments,, 
with the recommendation that the amendments be agreed to, and 
that the bill as amended do pass. 

The amendments recommended by the committee are an amend¬ 
ment to the title of the bill and an amendment striking out all after 
the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the part hereinafter 
set forth in this report under the heading of “Substitute amendment.’' 

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE PRESIDENT. 

President Taft, in his special message to Congress, dated January 7 
last, made the following statement: 

[Extract from special message of the President.] 

I withheld from my annual message a discussion of needed legislation under the- 
authority which Congress has to regulate commerce between the States and with 
foreign countries and said that I umuld bring this subject-matter to your attention later 
in the session. Accordingly, I beg to submit to you certain recommendations as to 
the amendments to the interstate-commerce law. * * * 

INTERSTATE-COMMERCE LAW. 

In the annual report of the Interstate Commerce Commission for the year 1908 atten¬ 
tion is calle.d to the fact that between July 1, 1908, and the close of that year sixteen 
suits had been begun to set aside orders of the commission (besides one commenced 
before that date), and that few orders of much consequence had been permitted to go 
without protest; that the questions presented by these various suits were fundamental, 
as the constitutionality of the act itself w^as in issue, and the right of Congress to dele¬ 
gate to any tribunal authority to establish an interstate rate was denied; but that 
perhaps the most serious practical question raised concerned the extent of the right of 
the courts to review the orders of the commission; and it was pointed out that if the 
contention of the carriers in this latter respect alone were sustained, but little progress 
had been made in the Hepburn Act toward the effective regulation of interstate 
transportation charges. In twelve of the cases referred to, it was stated, preliminary 
injunctions were prayed for, being granted in six and refused in six. 








RAILROAD BILL. 


Wt %1!0 

•to. 


“ It has from the first been well understood, ” says the commission, “that the success 
of the present act as a regulating measure depended largely upon the facility with 
which temporary injunctions could be obtained. If a railroad company, by mere 
allegation in its bill of complaint, supported by ex parte affidavits, can overturn the 
result of days of patient investigation, no very satisfactory result can be expected. 
The railroad loses nothing by these proceedings, since if they fail it can only be 
required to establish the rate and to pay to shippers the difference between the higher 
rate collected and the rate which is finally held to be reasonable. In point of fact it 
usually profits, because it can seldom be required to return more than a fraction of 
the excess charges collected. ” 

In its report for the year 1909 the commission shows that of the seyenteen cases 
referred to in its 1908 report, only one had been decided in the Supreme Court of the 
United States, although five other cases had been argued and submitted to that 
tribunal in October, 1909. 

Of course, every carrier affected by an order of the commission has a constitutional 
right to appeal to a federal court to protect it from the enforcement of an order which 
it may show to be prima facie confiscatory or unjustly discriminatory in its effect; and 
as this application may be made to a court in any district of the United States, not only 
does delay result in the enforcement of the order, but great uncertainty is caused by 
contrariety of decision. The questions presented by these applications are too often 
technical in their character and require a knowledge of the business and the mastery of 
a great volume of conflicting evidence which is tedious to examine and troublesome to 
comprehend. It would not be proper to attempt to deprive any corporation of the right 
to the review by a court of any order or decree which, if undisturbed, would rob it of a 
reasonable return upon its investment or would subject it to burdens which would un¬ 
justly discriminate against it and in favor of other carriers similarly situated. What is, 
however, of supreme importance is that the decision of such questions shall be as 
speedy as the nature of the circumstances will admit, and that a uniformity of decision 
be secured so as to bring about an effective, systematic, and scientific enforcement 
of the commerce law, rather than conflicting decisions and uncertainty of final result. 

For this purpose I recommend the establishment of a court of the United States com¬ 
posed of five judges designated for such purpose from among the circuit judges of the 
United States, to be known as the “United States Court of Commerce,” which court 
shall be clothed with exclusive original jurisdiction over the following classes of cases: 

(1) All cases for the enforcement, otherwise than by adjudication and collection of 
a forfeiture or penalty, or by infliction of criminal punishment, of any order of the 
Interstate Commerce Commission other than for the payment of money. 

(2) All cases brought to enjoin, set aside, annul, or suspend any order or requirement 
of the Interstate Commerce Commission. 

(3) All such cases as under section 3 of the act of February 19, 1903, known as the 
“Elkins Act,” are authorized to be maintained in a circuit court of the United States. 

(4) All such mandamus proceedings as under the provisions of section 20 or section 
23 of the interstate-commerce law are authorized to be maintained in a circuit court of 
the United States. 

Reasons precisely analogous to those which induced the Congress to create the 
Court of Customs Appeals by the provisions in the tariff act of August 5, 1909, may be 
urged in support of the creation of the commerce court. 

In order to provide a sufficient number of judges to enable this court to be consti¬ 
tuted, it will be necessary to authorize the appointment of five additional circuit 
judges, who, for the purposes of appointment, might be distributed to those circuits 
where there is at the present time the largest volume of business, such as the second 
third, fourth, seventh, and eighth circuits. The act should empower the Chief Justice 
at any time when the business of the court of commerce does not require the services 
of all the judges to reassign the judges designated to that court to the circuits to which 
they respectively belong; and it should also provide for pavment to such judges while 
sitting by assignment in the court of commerce of such additional amount as is neces¬ 
sary to bring their annual compensation up to $10,000. 

The regular sessions of such court should be held at the capital, but it should be em¬ 
powered to hold sessions in different parts of the United States if found desirable- and 
its orders and judgments should be made final, subject only to review by the Supreme 
Court of the United States, with the provision that the operation of the decree appealed 
from shall not be stayed unless the Supreme Court shall so order The commerce 
court should be empowered in its discretion to restrain or suspend the operation of an 
order of the Interstate Commerce Commission under review pending the final hearing 
and determination of the proceeding, but no such restraining order should be made 
except upon notice and after hearing, unless in cases where irreparable damage would 
otherwise ensue to the petitioner. A judge of that court might be empowered"to allow 


RAILROAD BILL. 


3 


a stay of the commission’s order for a period of not more than sixty days, but pending 
application to the court for its order or injunction, then only where his order shall com 
tain a specific finding based upon evidence submitted to the judge making the order 
and identified by reference thereto, that such irreparable damage would result to the 
petitioner, specifying the nature of the damage. 

Under the existing law, the Interstate Commerce Commission itself initiates and 
defends litigation in the courts for the enforcement, or in the defense, of its orders and 
decrees, and for this purpose it employs attorneys who, while subject to the control of 
the Attorney-General, act upon the initiative and under the instructions of the com¬ 
mission. This blending of administrative, legislative, and judicial functions tends, 
in my opinion, to impair the efficiency of the commission by clothing it with partisan 
characteristics and robbing it of the impartial judicial attitude it should occupy in 
passing upon questions submitted to it. In my opinion all litigation affecting the 
Government should be under the direct control of the Department of Justice; and 1 
therefore recommend that all proceedings affecting orders and decrees of the Interstate 
Commerce Commission be brought by or against the United States eo nomine , and be 
placed in charge of an Assistant Attorney-General acting under the direction of the 
Attorney-General. 

The subject of agreements between carriers with respect to rates has been often 
discussed in Congress. Pooling arrangements and agreements were condemned by 
the general sentiment of the people, and, under the Sherman antitrust law, any 
agreement between carriers operating in restraint of interstate or international trade 
or commerce would be unlawful. The Republican platform of 1908 expressed the 
belief that the interstate-commerce law should be further amended so as to give the 
railroads the right to make and publish traffic agreements subject to the approval of 
the commission, but maintaining always the principle of competition between natu¬ 
rally competing lines and avoiding the common control of such lines by aqy means 
whatsoever. In view of the complete control over rate making and other practices 
of interstate carriers established by the acts of Congress and as recommended in this 
communication, I see no reason why agreements between carriers subject to the act, 
specifying the classifications of freight and the rates, fares, and charges for transpor¬ 
tation of passengers and freight which they may agree to establish, should not be 
permitted, provided copies of such agreements be promptly filed with the commis¬ 
sion, but subject to all the provisions of the interstate-commerce act, and subject to 
the right of any parties to such agreement to cancel it as to all or any of the agreed 
rates, fares, charges, or classifications by thirty days’ notice in writing to the other 
parties and to the commission. 

Much complaint is made by shippers over the state of the law under which they are 
held bound to know the legal rate applicable to any proposed shipment, without, as a 
matter of fact, having any certain means of actually ascertaining such rate. It has 
been suggested that to meet this grievance carriers should be required, upon applica¬ 
tion by a shipper, to quote the legal rate in writing, and that the shipper should be 
protected in acting upon the rate thus quoted; but the objection to this suggestion is 
that it would afford a much too easy method of giving to favored shippers unreasonable 
preferences and rebates. I think that the law should provide that a carrier, upon 
written request by an intending shipper, should quote in writing the rate or charge 
applicable to the proposed shipment under any schedules or tariffs to which such 
carrier is a party, and that if the party making such request shall suffer damage in con¬ 
sequence of either refusal or omission to quote the proper rate, or in consequence of a 
misstatement of the rate, the carrier shall be liable to a penalty in some reasonable 
amount, say two hundred and fifty dollars, to accrue to the United States and to be 
recovered in a civil action brought by the appropriate district attorney. Such a 
penalty would compel the agent of the carrier to exercise due diligence in quoting the 
applicable legal rate, and would thus afford the shipper a real measure of protection, 
while not opening the way to collusion and the giving of rebates or other unfair dis¬ 
crimination. 

Under the existing law the commission can only act with respect to an alleged excess¬ 
ive rate or unduly discriminatory practice by a carrier on a complaint made by some 
individual affected thereby. I see no reason why the commission should not be 
authorized to act on its own initiative as well as upon the complaint of an individual in 
investigating the fairness of any existing rate or practice; and I recommend the 
amendment of the law to so provide; and also that the commission shall be fully empow¬ 
ered, beyond any question, to pass upon the classifications of commodities for purposes 
of fixing rates, in like manner as it may now do with respect to the maximum rate 
applicable to any transportation. 

Under the existing law the commission may not investigate an increase in rates until 
after it shall have become effective; and although one or more carriers may file with 


4 


RAILROAD BILL. 


the commission a proposed increase in rates or change in classifications, or other 
alteration of the existing rates or classifications, to become effective at the expiration 
of thirty days from such filing, no proceeding can be taken to investigate the reason¬ 
ableness of such proposed change until after it becomes operative. On the other 
hand, if the commission shall make an order finding that an existing rate is excessive 
and directing it to be reduced, the carrier affected may by proceedings in the courts 
stay the operation of such order of reduction for months and even years. It has, 
therefore, been suggested that the commission should be empowered, whenever a 
proposed increase in rates is filed, at once to enter upon an investigation of the reason¬ 
ableness of the increase and to make an order postponing the effective date of such 
increase until after such investigation shall be completed. To this much objection 
has been made on the part of carriers. They contend that this would be, in effect, 
to take from the owners of the railroads the management of their properties and to 
clothe the Interstate Commerce Commission with the original rate-making power—a 
policy which was much discussed at the time of the passage of the Hepburn Act in 
1905-6, and which was then and has always been distinctly rejected; and in reply to 
the suggestion that they are able by resorting to the courts to stay the taking effect of 
the order of the commission until its reasonableness shall have been investigated by 
the courts, whereas the people are deprived of any such remedy with respect to action 
by the carriers, they point to the provision of the interstate-commerce act providing 
for restitution to the shippers by carriers of excessive rates charged in cases where the 
orders of the commission reducing such rates are affirmed. It may be doubted how 
effective this remedy really is. Experience has shown that many, perhaps most, 
shippers do not resort to proceedings to recover the excessive rates which they may 
have been required .to pay, for the simple reason that they have added the rates paid 
to the cost of the goods and thus enhanced the price thereof to their customers, and 
that the public has in effect paid the bill. On the other hand, the enormous volume 
of transportation charges, the great number of separate tariffs filed annually with the 
Interstate Commerce Commission, amounting to almost 200,000, and the impossi¬ 
bility of any commission supervising the making of tariffs in advance of their becoming 
effective on every transportation line within the United States to the extent that 
would be necessary if their active concurrence were required in the making of every 
tariff, has satisfied me that this power, if granted, should be conferred in a very limited 
and restricted form. I therefore recommend that the Interstate Commerce Commis¬ 
sion be empowered, whenever any proposed increase of rates is filed, at once, either on 
complaint or of its own motion, to enter upon an investigation into the reasonableness 
of such change, and that it be further empowered, in its discretion, to postpone the 
effective date of such proposed increase for a period not exceeding sixty days beyond 
the date when such rate would take effect. If within this time it shall determine 
that such increase is unreasonable, it may then, by its order, either forbid the increase 
at all or fix the maximum beyond which it shall not be made. If, on the other hand, 
at the expiration of this time, the commission shall not have completed its investiga¬ 
tion, then the rate shall take effect precisely as it would under the existing law, and 
the commission may continue its investigation with such results as might be realized 
under the law as it now stands.. 

The claim is very earnestly advanced by some large associations of shippers that 
shippers of freight should be empowered to direct the route over which their shipments 
should pass to destination, and in this connection it has been urged that the provisions 
of section 15 of the interstate-commerce act, which now empowers the commission, 
after hearing on complaint, to establish through routes and maximum joint rates to 
be charged, etc., when no reasonable or satisfactory through route shall have been 
already established, be amended so as to empower the commission to take such action, 
even when one existing reasonable and satisfactory route already exists, if it be possible 
to establish additional routes. This seems to me to be a reasonable provision. I 
know of no reason why a shipper should not have the right to elect between two or 
more established through routes to which the initial carrier may be a party, and to 
require his shipment to be transported to destination over such of such routes as he may 
designate for that purpose, subject, however, in the exercise of this right to suck 
reasonable regulations as the Interstate Commerce Commission may prescribe. 

The Republican platform of 1908 declared in favor of amending the interstate- 
commerce law, but so as always to maintain the principle of competition between 
naturally competing lines, and avoiding the common control of such lines by any 
means whatsoever. One of the most potent means of exercising such control has 
been through the holding of stock of one railroad company by another company 
owning a competing line. This condition has grown up under express legislative 
power conferred by the laws of many States, and to attempt now to suddenly reverse 
that policy so far as it affects the ownership of stocks heretofore so acquired would be 


RAILROAD BILL. 


5 


to inflict a grievoiffc injury, not only upon the corporations affected, but upon a large 
body of the investment holding public. I, however, recommend that the law shall 
be amended so as to provide that from and after the date of its passage no railroad 
company subject to the interstate-commerce act sKall, directly or indirectly, acquire 
any interests of any kind in capital stock, or purchase or lease any railroad of any other 
corporation which competes with it respecting business to which the interstate- 
commerce act applies. But especially for the protection of the minority stockholders 
in securing to them the best market for their stock I recommend that such prohibi¬ 
tion bo coupled with a proviso that it shall not operate to prevent any corporation 
which, at the date of the passage of such act, shall own not less than one-half of the 
entire issued and outstanding capital stock of any other railroad company, from acquir¬ 
ing all or the remainder of such stock; nor to prohibit any railroad company which at 
the date of the enactment of the law is operating a railroad of any other corporation 
under lease, executed for a term of not less than twenty-five years, from acquiring the 
reversionary ownership of the demised railroad; but that such provisions shall not 
operate to authorize or validate the acquisition, through stock ownership or otherwise, 
of a competing line or interest therein in violation of the antitrust or any other law. 

The Republican platform of 1908 further declares in favor of such national legisla¬ 
tion and supervision as will prevent the future overissue of stocks and bonds by 
interstate carriers, and in order to carry out its provisions I recommend the enact¬ 
ment of a law providing that no railroad corporation subject to the interstate-commerce 
act shall hereafter for any purpose connected with or relating to any part of its busi¬ 
ness governed by said act, issue any capital stock without previous or simultaneous 
payment to it of not less than the par value of such stock, or any bonds or other obliga¬ 
tions (except notes maturing not more than one year from the date of their issue), 
without the previous or simultaneous payment to such corporation of not less than 
the par value of such bonds, or other obligations, or, if issued at less than their par 
value, then not without such payment of the reasonable market value of such bonds 
or obligations as ascertained by the Interstate Commerce Commission; and that no 
property, services, or other thing than money, shall be taken in payment to such 
carrier corporation, of the par or other required price of such stock, bond or other 
obligation, except at the fair value of such property, services or other things as ascer¬ 
tained by the commission; and that such act shall also contain provisions to prevent 
the abuse by the improvident or improper issue of notes maturing at a period not 
exceeding twelve months from date, in such manner as to commit the commission to 
the approval of a larger amount of stock or bonds in order to retire such notes than 
should legitimately have been required. 

Such act should also provide for the approval by the Interstate Commerce Com¬ 
mission of the amount of stock and bonds to be issued by any railroad company subject 
to this act upon any reorganization, pursuant to judicial sale or other legal proceedings, 
in order to prevent the issue of stock and bonds to an amount in excess of the fair value 
of the property which is the subject of such reorganization. 

I believe these suggested modifications in and amendments to the interstate-com¬ 
merce act would make it a complete and effective measure for securing reasonableness 
of rates and fairness of practices in the operation of interstate railroad lines, without 
undue preference to any individual or class over any others; and would prevent the 
recurrence of many of the practices which have given rise in the past to so much public 
inconvenience and loss. 

By my direction the Attorney-General has drafted a bill to carry out these recom¬ 
mendations, which will be furnished upon request to the appropriate committee 
whenever it may be desired. 

The bill under consideration, H. R. 17536, was introduced by Mr. 
Townsend on January 10 last, and as introduced is the bill drafted 
by the Attorney-General and referred to in the message of the 
President. 

Your committee gave extended hearings on the subject-matter of 
this and other bills concerning amendments to the interstate-com¬ 
merce act and relating to regulation of common-carrier corporations, 
and took a large amount of testimony, which has been printed by 
order of the committee and which has proven of great benefit in the 
consideration of the bill. 

After the hearings before the committee were closed, the committee 
took the bill up for consideration, section by section and line by line. 
During the course of the hearings and the consideration in your com- 


6 


RAILROAD BILL. 


mittee it became evident that many amendments to# the bill were 
desirable. A number of amendments were suggested by the Attor¬ 
ney-General, who had drafted the original bill itself. Many amend¬ 
ments to the text of the original bill were agreed to by your com¬ 
mittee in the consideration of the bill. 

So many changes were made in the text of the original bill that, 
in order to avoid confusion, the committee has reported the bill back 
to the House with the recommendation that the bill be amended by 
striking out all after the enacting clause and inserting as a substitute, 
by way of amendment, the text of the bill as changed and agreed to 
in the committee. This amendment and the amendment to the title 
of the bill, recommended by your committee, are hereinafter set forth 
under proper heading. 


BILL AS REPORTED. 

Attached to and made a part of this report is also a copy of the 
original bill (H. R. 17536), showing the changes made in the original 
text of the bill by the substitute bill herewith reported, the new 
language being shown in italics and the language omitted being 
shown by a line drawn through the parts stricken out. 

Attached to and made a part of this report is also the text of the 
substitute recommended compared with the existing act to regulate 
commerce as amended, the existing law being set forth in roman type, 
with the parts omitted stricken out and the new language proposed 
by the substitute printed in italics. 

In this way the report of your committee shows: First, the way the 
bill would read if the substitute amendment recommended by your 
committee be enacted into law in that form; second, the changes 
recommended by your committee from the original bill (H. R. 17536); 
and, third, changes in and additions proposed to the existing law. 

RAILWAY REGULATION. 

Different theories have been entertained as to the control and 
regulation by governments of the means of transportation. 

One theory is that the government itself shall own, control, and 
operate the transportation facilities, which, as applied to our country, 
would involve government ownership and operation, either by the 
General Government or by the state governments or by the two 
together or separately. 

Another theory is that the facilities of transportation shall be 
left wholly to development by private parties for gain, and that the 
private owners of such transportation facilities shall be permitted 
to exercise control over their own operations, leaving to the natural 
forces of competition such regulation as may be required. 

Another theory is that government, having granted to private 
persons or corporations certain rights, such as the right of eminent 
domain, shall commit the construction, control, ownership, and 
operation of railroads and other facilities of transportation to pri¬ 
vate owners, with the power exercised on the part of the govern¬ 
ment to regulate the methods used by the owners and operators of 
such transportation facilities, including the right to regulate the 
charges to be made and the facilities afforded. The latter is the 
theory adopted by most, if not all, of our state governments and 



RAILROAD BILL. 




adopted by the General Government through the passage, in 1887, 
of the law known as “The act to regulate commerce.” Amendments 
to this law have been enacted at different times, but the principal 
amendment is known as the Hepburn law, which was passed June 
30, 1906. 

In the exercise of its power, and following its determination to 
regulate interstate railroads, Congress has proceeded with deliber¬ 
ation and caution, accumulating knowledge and gaining light through 
experience. 

The original act to regulate commerce was decisive of the funda¬ 
mental proposition that the General Government should exercise a 
regulative control over those railroad corporations engaged in inter¬ 
state or foreign commerce. The Hepburn law of 1906 vastly 
improved the law providing for this control and much enlarged the 
scope of the authority conferred upon the Interstate Commerce 
Commission. The experience gained through execution of the law 
shows, however, that some important matters which should be the 
subject of governmental control are not now within the scope of 
authority heretofore conferred upon the commission. The original 
act to regulate commerce was exceedingly important, the Hepburn 
law was of still greater importance, but the propositions involved 
in the substitute bill reported by your committee are of even greater 
importance. To enumerate the propositions is in the main suffi¬ 
cient to show their importance. In a general way, however, it 
suffices to say that while they do not impose undue burdens upon 
the railways of the country or unduly interfere with the power of 
the railway managers for the proper operation of the roads, yet 
they do confer upon the shipping public, the investing public, and 
the people at large benefits of tremendous value. 

COMMERCE COURT. 

The first three sections of the substitute relate to the creation of 
the commerce court (referred to in the original bill as the court of 
commerce). It is proposed by the bill to create a commerce court,, 
composed of five judges, the main jurisdiction of which court shall be 
over all suits brought to enforce or to enjoin or set aside orders of 
the Interstate Commerce Comipission, and certain other suits brought 
in accordance with the act to regulate commerce, and the Elkins Act; 
but in the amendment recommended by your committee it is ex¬ 
pressly provided that the creation of this court shall not be construed 
as giving to the commerce court any greater jurisdiction than is now 
possessed by the circuit courts of the United States over similar 
matters. In other words, b^ the substitute bill, it is proposed to 
centralize the existing authority and jurisdiction of circuit courts in 
one commerce court, but without enlarging such jurisdiction or 
authority. 

The present jurisdiction of the United States courts to set aside 
orders entered by the Interstate Commerce Commission under the 
act to regulate commerce is believed by many to be limited to the 
determination of jurisdictional facts and to the question of confisca¬ 
tion by the taking of property without due compensation; and the 
substitute bill as reported bv your committee carefully provides that 
such jurisdiction of the courts, if now so limited, shall not be enlarged 
in the commerce court. 


■$ RAILROAD BILL. 

SECTIONS 4 AND 5. 

Sections 4 and 5 provide that suits which heretofore have been 
brought by or against the Interstate Commerce Commission shall 
hereafter be brought by or against the United States, and that the 
Attorney-General shall represent the United States in all such pro¬ 
ceedings. At present when the Interstate Commerce Commission 
makes an order under the act to regulate commerce and a suit is 
brought to enjoin or set aside such order, the commission is made a 
party defendant. And under the existing law the Interstate Com¬ 
merce Commission may institute an inquiry, have its own attorneys 
prepare and try the case before the commission, and then, if an order 
be entered, the commission is sued andds required to defend the 
order entered. Under the bill reported, if a suit be brought to set 
aside the order of the commission, it will be brought against the 
United States and defended by the Attorney-General, who is, however, 
authorized by the bill to employ special attorneys, including the 
attorneys of the Interstate Commerce Commission who tried the case 
before the commission, and there is also inserted the provision that 
the parties in interest, such as shippers, organizations, or municipali¬ 
ties, before the commission, may be represented by their own counsel 
in the court proceedings where the order of the commission is attacked. 

section 6. 

Section 6 provides for the disposition of cases which may arise or 
be in progress before the opening of the commerce court. 

ENLARGING THE POWER OF THE COMMISSION OVER RAILROAD REGU¬ 
LATIONS AND PRACTICES. 

Section 6a provides for an amendment of the existing section 1 
of the interstate commerce act, by making it the duty of common 
carriers to provide reasonable facilities for operating through routes 
and to exchange, interchange, and return cars used therein; and to 
establish, observe, and enforce just and reasonable classifications 
of property for transportation and just and reasonable regulations 
and practices affecting classifications, rates, tariffs, the issuance, 
form, and substance of tickets, receipts and bills of lading, the man¬ 
ner and method of presenting, marking, packing, and delivering 
property for transportation, the facilities for transportation, the 
carrying of personal, sample, and excess baggage, and all other mat¬ 
ters relating to or connected with the receiving, handling, transport¬ 
ing, storing, and delivery of property necessary or convenient to 
secure the safe and prompt receipt, handling, transportation, and 
delivery of property upon just and reasonable terms. 

There are certain other amendments to section 1 of the law, shown 
in the copy of the bill hereto attached, designed to show changes 
from the existing law. One of these extends the jurisdiction of the 
Interstate Commerce Commission over railroads in Alaska. 

LONG-AND-SHORT-HAUL CLAUSE. 

Section 6b proposes an amendment to section 4 of the interstate 
-commerce act in relation to charges for long and short hauls. The 
existing law provides that the carrier shall not charge greater com- 



RAILROAD BILL. 


9 


pensation “ under substantially similar circumstances and conditions ’’ 
for a shorter than for a longer distance over the same line in the same 
direction, but authorizes the commission in special cases to relieve 
the carrier from the operation of this provision. The courts have so 
construed the meaning of the words “ under substantially similar cir¬ 
cumstances and conditions” as to practically deprive section 4 of 
the existing law of real vitality. In the substitute recommended by 
your committee section 4 of the existing law is amended so as to 
leave out the words “ under substantially similar circumstances and 
conditions” and to prohibit a carrier from receiving greater compen¬ 
sation for a shorter than for a longer distance over the same line in the 
same direction, the shorter being included within the longer distance, or 
to receive a greater compensation as a through route than the aggregate 
of the local rates, but authorizing the Interstate Commerce Commis¬ 
sion to relieve a carrier upon application from the operation of this 
section; and in order not to unduly disturb existing conditions in an 
abrupt manner the amendment further provides that no rates or 
charges lawfully existing at the time of the passage of the proposed 
act shall be required to be changed by reason of this section prior 
to the expiration of six months after the passage of the act, nor until 
any application made with the commission shall have been deter¬ 
mined. 


AGREEMENTS BETWEEN COMMON CARRIERS. 

Section 7 of the original bill, with the amendments agreed to by 
your committee and now reported as section 7 of the substitute, 
authorizes common carriers to enter into agreements, specifying the 
classifications of freight and the charges for transporting passengers 
and freight, notwithstanding existing laws, including the Sherman 
antitrust law, if a copy of the agreement in such form and in such 
detail as the Interstate Commerce Commission may prescribe is 
filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission within twenty days 
after it is made and at least thirty days before the classification or 
charge referred to goes into effect. The commission is, however, 
given as full authority over the classifications and charges provided 
for in such agreements as it has over any other charge or classifica¬ 
tion, including the right upon application to suspend the taking 
effect of the proposed charge or classification, in accordance with 
another provision of the bill; but it is expressly provided that in 
making such agreements between carriers the carrier shall not make 
any agreement for the pooling or division of traffic or the pooling 
or division of earnings under penalty. 

FURNISHING RATE ON APPLICATION. 

Section 8 proposes to add to section 6 of the existing interstate- 
commerce act a provision requiring a common carrier upon written 
request to state correctly to the applicant the tariff rate on a proposed 
shipment between stated places under a penalty for making an 
erroneous quotation of the rate. This penalty shall accrue to the 
United States and be recovered in a civil action brought by the 
United States. The bill does not provide for any redress to the 
shipper who may have suffered loss on account of an erroneous 


10 


RAILROAD BILL. 


quotation of the tariff rate, for the reason that it has so far seemed 
impracticable to find any method of so doing without opening a 
loophole for the allowance of secret rebates in such manner as would 
be practically improvable in criminal proceedings. 

There is also an amendment to section 6 of the existing interstate- 
commerce act subjecting carriers who fail to comply with regulations 
issued by the Interstate Commerce Commission as to the form of 
tariff sheets, etc., to a penalty. 

section 8a. 

Section 8a provides for an amendment to section 10 of the existing 
interstate-commerce act, designed to strengthen the law forbidding 
rebates. 

COMPLAINTS BEFORE THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION. 

Section 8b amends section 13 of the existing interstate, commerce 
act by authorizing the commission to institute an inquiry on its own 
motion as'to any matter concerning which complaint is authorized 
to be made by others before the commission, or relating to the enforce¬ 
ment of any provision of the act to regulate commerce, and giving 
to the commission full power and authority to proceed with its own 
inquiry as though it had been appealed to by formal complaint. 
The amendments to this section also considerably enlarge the scope 
of complaints which may be made before the commission, and author¬ 
ize complaints not only as to the rates charged for transportation,, 
but also as to any classification, or relating to or affecting any regula¬ 
tion or practice of the carrier, or the failure of the carrier to establish, 
observe, and enforce just and reasonable classifications and just and 
reasonable regulations and practices concerning all the matters 
enumerated in section 1 of the act to regulate commerce, including 
those proposed to be inserted by the substitute bill. 

INCREASING THE SUBJECT-MATTERS CONCERNING WHICH THE COM¬ 
MISSION MAY MAKE ORDERS. 


Section 9 proposes to amend section 15 of the act to regulate com¬ 
merce. Section 15 of the act to regulate commerce is the section 
under which orders of the commission in regard to rates are now 
made. Under the provisions of section 15, as it now stands, the 
authority of the commission to enter an order is confined to the 
subject-matter of rates for transportation and regulations or prac¬ 
tices “affecting such rates” and the establishment of through routes 
where “no reasonable or satisfactory through route exists.” As rec¬ 
ommended to be amended bv your committee, section 15 of the 
present law will have its scope largely increased and the jurisdiction 
of the commission will be much enlarged. 

Under the section as reported, the commission is given jurisdiction 
to enter orders not only in regard to rates, but also in regard to 
classifications, regulations, or practices, whether they affect rates or 
not, and to determine what are proper classifications, regulations, 
and practices, in addition to rates, and to require the carriers not 


RAILROAD BILL. 


11 


only to follow the rate which may be fixed by the order of the com¬ 
mission, but also to adopt the classification and conform to and 
establish, observe, and enforce the regulation or practice prescribed 
by the commission, and this provision should be read in connection 
with the amendment recommended by your committee to sections 
1 and 13 of the existing interstate-commerce act. 

It is also provided in the amended section 15, recommended, that 
the commission make a separate terminal, switching, icing, storage, 
elevation, or other special charge from the through rate, which now 
includes such special charge, and prescribe the maximum rates, which 
in the aggregate or separately in such case are just and reasonable. 

SUSPENSION OF PROPOSED RATES. 

It is also provided in this section, as an amendment to the existing 
law, that where a carrier files with the commission a proposed new 
tariff rate, the commission may suspend the taking effect of the new 
rate, classification, regulation, or practice, for a period of one hundred 
and twenty days beyond the time when it would otherwise go into 
effect. 

ESTABLISHMENT OF THROUGH ROUTES. 

Under the existing law the commission is given authority to 
establish through routes and rates “provided, no reasonable or 
satisfactory through route exists.” Under the amended section as 
reported by your committee it is proposed to strike out of the existing 
law “ provided, no reasonable or satisfactory through route exists” 
and authorize the commission to establish through routes and joint 
classifications and joint rates. But, as this provision will very 
greatly increase the power of the Interstate Commerce Commission 
in the establishment of through routes where water lines form parts 
of the through routes it is provided by the amended section reported 
that “this act shall not be construed to affect traffic originating and 
ending on the line of any water carrier and transported wholly by 
water, and shall not be held to affect the limitation of liability of 
water carriers, as now provided by law.” 

The original bill as introduced provided that the commission 
should not establish any through route, classification, or rate between 
street, suburban, or interurban electric passenger railroads and rail¬ 
roads of a different character. In the substitute bill, as recommended 
by your committee, this provision is stricken out and the section as 
recommended will authorize the commission to establish through 
routes, classifications, and rates, including both steam and electric, 
roads engaged in interstate commerce; but a question having arisen 
as to whether the commission under such provision might not have 
the authority to require a through freight route which would pro¬ 
vide for carrying freight on street railways into and through the heart 
of cities, there is inserted the provision that the commission shall 
not, however, in establishing any through route, classification, or 
rate, include a street electric passenger railway not engaged in the 
general business of transporting freight in addition to its passenger 
business. 


12 


RAILROAD BILL. 


ROUTING OF FREIGHT. 

It is also provided in this section, as reported back to the House, 
that the consignor of freight under exceptions and regulations pre¬ 
scribed by the commission shall have the right to designate in writing, 
where there are two or more through routes, by which of such through 
routes his property shall be transported to destination. 

section 10. 

Section 10 proposes to amend section 16 of the act to regulate com¬ 
merce so as to conform with the idea of a commerce court to supersede 
the present jurisdiction of the circuit courts over suits to enjoin or 
enforce orders of the commission. 

section 11. 

Section 11 proposes to amend section 20 of the interstate-commerce 
act by enlarging the powers of the commission in regard to reports 
made by the common carriers to the commission. 

THE CONSOLIDATION OF RAILROADS. 

Section 12 of the substitute bill forbids a railroad company from 
purchasing or leasing or acquiring the capital stock of another rail¬ 
road or water carrier line which is directly and substantially com¬ 
petitive with it, and puts a similar prohibition upon a water carrier 
corporation. The section also prohibits railroad or water carrier 
corporations which are directly and substantially competitive from 
having, after July 1, 1911, the same person as an officer or director 
of any two of such competing corporations, and a sufficient penalty is 
inflicted for violation of the section. The section further provides, 
however, that if any such corporation desires to purchase or lease or 
acquire interest in the capital stock of another similar corporation 
it may make a preliminary agreement and then file its petition for 
permission to carry out such agreement and to have a determination 
whether the corporations are in fact directly and substantially com¬ 
petitive. Nothing in this act validates any act prohibited by the 
Sherman antitrust law or affects any pending action or the rights of 
any party under such act. And the right to appeal to the commerce 
court is denied to any carrier now involved in any suit under the 
provisions of the antitrust law. In reporting the substitute bill to 
the House the committee has provided that the application for per¬ 
mission to purchase, lease, or acquire capital stock in another cor¬ 
poration shall be made to the commerce court; but the committee is 
giving consideration to the question, with the possible view of reporting 
a committee amendment, as to whether such application should be 
made to the Interstate Commerce Commission in place of the com¬ 
merce court. 

RAILWAY SECURITIES. 

Section 13 of the bill provides that no railroad company shall issue 
any stock or bonds except upon application to the Interstate Com¬ 
merce Commission, which shall render a decision specifying the respec¬ 
tive amounts of stock, bonds, etc., authorized to be issued for the 
respective purposes to which the proceeds are to be applied and 
stating the price at which such securities may be sold, which price 


RAILROAD BILL. 


13 


shall be their reasonable value. The various provisions of the section 
carrying into effect this general proposition will be found in full by 
examination of the section itself. 

Section 14 of the substitute bill treats of the issuance of securities 
upon the reorganization of a railroad which is in the hands of a 
receiver or subject to be sold in any judicial proceeding, and provides 
that the amount of stock issued in such reorganization shall not exceed 
the fair estimated value of the property which shall be ascertained by 
the Interstate Commerce Commission. It is also provided in the 
section that in a merger or consolidation of two or more railroad 
corporations, stock to be issued by the consolidated corporation and 
the bonds and other obligations to be assumed and issued by it shall 
not exceed the fair estimated value of the properties of the consoli¬ 
dated corporation. 

And in section 15 provision is made for the issuance of the certifi¬ 
cates in relation to stocks and bonds by the Interstate Commerce 
Commission, and also a penalty is imposed on any director, officer, or 
stockholder who knowingly and willfully assents to or concurs in any 
issue of securities forbidden by the provisions of the act. 

The stock and bond proposition in the original text of H. R. 17536 
was included as section 13. Subsequently new propositions were 
prepared and submitted by the Attorney-General relating to this 
subject-matter. These propositions have been carefully considered 
and considerably changed in the consideration by your committee, 
and your committee has now reported as a part of its substitute bill 
sections 13, 14, and 15 of the substitute bill in lieu of section 13 of 
the original Townsend bill. 

SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT RECOMMENDED BY THE COMMITTEE 
TO H. R. 17536. 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS. 

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following: 

That a court of the United States is hereby created which 
shall be known as the commerce court and shall have the 
jurisdiction now possessed by circuits courts of the United 
States and the judges thereof over all cases of the follow¬ 
ing kinds: 

First. All cases for the enforcement, otherwise than 
by adjudication and collection of a forfeiture or penalty or 
by infliction of criminal punishment, of any order of the 
Interstate Commerce Commission other than for the pay¬ 
ment of money. 


14 


RAILROAD BILL. 


Second. Cases brought to enjoin, set aside, annul, or 
suspend in whole or in part any order of the Interstate 
Commerce Commission. 

Third. Such cases as by section three of the Act to 
further regulate commerce with foreign nations and 
among the States, approved February nineteenth, nine¬ 
teen hundred and three, are authorized to be maintained 
in a circuit court of the United States. 

Fourth. All such mandamus proceedings as under the 
provisions of section twenty or section twenty-three of the 
Act to regulate commerce, approved February fourth, 
eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, as amended, are 
authorized to be maintained in a circuit court of the United 
States. Nothing hereinbefore contained in this Act shall 
be construed as enlarging the jurisdiction now possessed 
by the circuit courts of the United States or the judges 
thereof, which is hereby transferred to and vested in the 
commerce court. 

The jurisdiction of the commerce court over cases of 
the foregoing classes shall be exclusive; but this Act shall 
not affect the jurisdiction now possessed by any circuit 
or district court of the United States over cases or proceed¬ 
ings of a kind not within the above-enumerated classes. 

The commerce court shall be a court of record, and shall 
have a seal of such form and style as the court may pre¬ 
scribe. The said court shall be composed of five judges, 
to be from time to time designated and assigned thereto 
by the Chief Justice of the United States from among the 
circuit judges of the United States, for the period of five 
years, except that in the first instance the court shall be 
composed of the five additional circuit judges to be ap¬ 
pointed as hereinafter provided, who shall be designated 
by the President to serve for one, two, three, four, and five 
years, respectively, in order that the period of designation 


KAILROAD BILL. 


15 


of one of the said judges shall expire in each year there¬ 
after. In case of the death, resignation, or termination 
of assignment of any judge so designated, the Chief Justice 
shall designate a circuit judge to fill the vacancy so caused 
and to serve during the unexpired period for which the 
original designation was made. After the year nineteen 
hundred and fourteen no circuit judge shall he redesig¬ 
nated to serve on the commerce court until the expiration 
of at least one year after the expiration of the period of his 
last previous designation. The judge first designated for 
the five-year period shall be the presiding judge of said 
court, and thereafter the judge senior in commission shall 
be the presiding judge. 

Each of the judges during the period of his service in 
the commerce court shall, on account of . the regular ses¬ 
sions of the court being held in the city of Washington, 
receive in addition to his salary as circuit judge an expense 
allowance at the rate of two thousand dollars per annum. 
The President shall, by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate, appoint five additional circuit judges, no 
two of whom shall be from the same judicial circuit, who 
shall hold office during good behavior and who shall be 
from time to time designated and assigned by the Chief 
Justice of the United States for service in the circuit 
court for any district, or the circuit court of appeals for 
any circuit, or in the commerce court. 

The associate judges shall have precedence and shall 
succeed to the place and powers of the presiding judge 
whenever he may be absent or incapable of acting in the 
order of the date of their commissions. Four of said 
judges shall constitute a quorum, and at least a majority 
of the court shall concur in all decisions. 

The court shall also have a clerk and a marshal, with 
the same duties and powers, so far as they may be appro- 


16 


KAILROAD BILL. 


priate and are not altered by rule of the court, as are now 
possessed by the clerk and marshal, respectively, of the 
Supreme Court of the United States. The offices of the 
clerk and marshal of the court shall be in the city of 
Washington, in the District of Columbia. The judges 
of the court shall appoint the clerk and marshal, and may 
also appoint, if they find it necessary, a deputy clerk and 
deputy marshal; and such clerk, marshal, deputy clerk, 
and deputy marshal shall hold office during the pleasure 
of the court. The salary of the clerk shall be four thou¬ 
sand dollars per annum; the salary of the marshal three 
thousand dollars per annum; the salary of the deputy 
clerk two thousand five hundred dollars per annum; and 
the salary of the deputy marshal two thousand five hun¬ 
dred dollars per annum. The said clerk and marshal 
may, with the approval of the court, .employ all requisite 
assistance. The costs and fees in said court shall be es¬ 
tablished by the court in a table thereof, approved by the 
Supreme Court of the United States, within four months 
after the organization of the court; but such costs and 
fees shall in no case exceed those charged in the Supreme 
Court of the United States, and shall be accounted for and 
paid into the Treasury of the United States. 

The commerce court shall be always open for the trans¬ 
action of business. Its regular sessions shall be held in 
the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia ; but 
the powers of the court or of any judge thereof, or of the 
clerk, marshal, deputy clerk, or deputy marshal may be 
exercised anywhere in the United States; and for expe¬ 
dition of the work of the court and the avoidance of undue 
expense or inconvenience to suitors the court shall hold 
sessions in different parts of the United States as may be 
found desirable. The actual and necessary expenses of 
the judges, clerk, marshal, deputy clerk, and deputy mar- 


RAILROAD BILL. 


IT 


shal of the court incurred for travel and attendance else¬ 
where than in the city of Washington shall be paid upon 
the written and itemized certificate of such judge, clerk, 
marshal, deputy clerk, or deputy marshal by the marshal 
of the court, and shall be allowed to him in the statement 
of his accounts with the United States. 

The United States marshals of the several districts out¬ 
side of the city of Washington in which the commerce 
court may hold its sessions shall provide, under the direc¬ 
tion and with the approval of the Attorney-General of the 
United States, such rooms in the public buildings of the 
United States as may be necessary for the court’s use; 
but in case proper rooms can not be provided in such pub¬ 
lic buildings, said marshals, with the approval of the 
Attorney-General of the United States, may then lease 
from time to time other necessary rooms for the court. 

If, at any time, the business of the commerce court does 
not require the continuous services of all the judges, the 
Chief Justice of the United States may, by writing, signed 
by him and filed in the Department of State, terminate 
the assignment of any of the judges or temporarily assign 
him for service in any circuit court or circuit court of 
appeals. In case of illness or other disability of any judge 
assigned to the commerce court, the Chief Justice of the 
United States may assign any other circuit judge of the 
United States to act in his place, and may terminate such 
assignment when the exigence therefor shall cease; and 
any circuit judge so assigned to act in place of such judge 
shall, during his assignment, exercise all the powers and 
perform all the functions of such judge. 

In all cases within its jurisdiction the commerce court,, 
and each of the judges assigned thereto, shall, respectively, 
have and may exercise any and all of the powers of a cir¬ 
cuit court of the United States and of the judges of said 

H. Rep. 923, 61-2-2 


18 


RAILROAD BILL. 


court, respectively, so far as the same may be appropriate 
to the effective exercise of the jurisdiction hereby con¬ 
ferred. The commerce court may issue all writs and 
process appropriate to the full exercise of its jurisdic¬ 
tion and powers and may prescribe the form thereof, 
ft may also, from time to time, establish such rules and 
regulations concerning pleading, practice, or procedure in 
cases or matters within its jurisdiction as to the court 
shall seem wise and proper. Its orders, writs, and pro¬ 
cess may run, be served, and be returnable anywhere in 
the United States; and the marshal and deputy marshal 
of said court and also the United States marshals and 
deputy marshals in the several districts of the United 
States shall have like powers and be under like duties to 
act for and in behalf of said court as pertain to United* 
States marshals and deputy marshals generally wTien act¬ 
ing under like conditions concerning suits or matters in 
the circuits of the United States. 

The jurisdiction of the commerce court shall be invoked 
by filing in the office of the clerk of the court a written 
petition setting forth briefly and succinctly the facts con¬ 
stituting the petitioner’s cause of action, and specifying 
the relief sought. A copy of such petition shall be forth¬ 
with served by the marshal or a deputy marshal of the 
commerce court or by the proper United States marshal or 
deputy marshal upon every defendant therein named, and 
when the United States is a party defendant, the service 
shall be made by filing a copy of said petition in the office 
of the secretary of the Interstate Commerce Commission 
and in the Department of Justice. In case a defendant 
to such petition can not be found within the district of his 
last-known residence or place of business, and the marshal 
shall so return, service of the petition may be made in the 
manner provided in section eight of the Act entitled “ An 


RAILROAD BILL. 


19 


Act to determine the jurisdiction of circuit courts of the 
United States, and to regulate the removal of causes from 
state courts, and for other purposes/' approved March 
third, eighteen hundred and seventy-five. Within thirty 
days after the petition is served, unless that time is ex¬ 
tended by order of the court or a judge thereof, an answer 
to the petition shall be filed in the clerk's office, and a copj^ 
thereof mailed to the petitioner's attorney, which answer 
shall briefly and categorically respond to the allegations of 
the petition. No replication need be filed to the answer, 
and objections to the sufficiency of the petition or answer 
as not setting forth a cause of action or defense must be 
taken at the final hearing and not by demurrer. In case 
no answer shall be filed as provided herein the petitioner 
may apply to the court on notice for such relief as may be 
proper upon the facts alleged in the petition. The court 
may, by rule, prescribe the method of taking evidence in 
cases pending in said court; and may prescribe that the 
evidence be taken before a single judge of the court, with 
power to rule upon the admission of evidence. Except as 
may be otherwise provided in this Act, or by rule of the 
court, the practice and procedure in the commerce court 
shall conform as nearly as may be to that in like cases in a 
circuit court of the United States. 

Sec. 2. That final judgment or decree of the com¬ 
merce court may be reviewed by the Supreme Court of 
the United States if appeal to the Supreme Court be taken 
by an aggrieved party within sixty days after the entry of 
said final judgment or decree. Such appeal may be taken 
in like manner as appeals from a circuit court of the United 
States to the Supreme Court, and the commerce court may 
direct the original record to be transmitted on appeal 
instead of a transcript thereof. The Supreme Court may 


20 


RAILROAD BILL. 


affirm, reverse, or modify the final judgment or decree of 
the commerce court as the case may require. 

Appeal to the Supreme Court, however, shall in no case 
supersede or stay the judgment or decree of the commerce 
court appealed from, unless the Supreme Court or a justice 
thereof shall so direct, and appellant shall give bond in 
such form and of such amount as the Supreme Court, or 
the justice of that court allowing the stay, may require. 

Appeals to the Supreme Court under this section shall 
have priority in hearing and determination over all other 
causes except criminal causes in that court. 

Sec. 3. That suits to enjoin, set aside, annul, or sus¬ 
pend any order of the Interstate Commerce Commission 
shall be brought in the commerce court against the United 
States. The pendency of such suit shall not of itself stay 
or suspend the operation of the order of the Interstate 
Commerce Commission; but the commerce court, in its 
discretion, may restrain or suspend, in whole or in part, 
the operation of the commission’s order pending the final 
hearing and determination of the suit. No order or in¬ 
junction so restraining or suspending an order of the Inter¬ 
state Commerce Commission shall be made by the com¬ 
merce court otherwise than upon notice and after hearing, 
except that in cases where irreparable damage would 
otherwise ensue to the petitioner, said court, or a judge 
thereof may allow a temporary stay or suspension in whole 
or in part of the operation of the order of the Interstate 
Commerce Commission for not more than sixty days from 
the date of his order, pending application to the court for 
its order or injunction, in which case the said order shall 
contain a specific finding, based upon evidence submitted 
to the judge making the order and identified by reference 
thereto, that such irreparable damage would result to the 
petitioner and specifying the nature of the damage. The 


RAILROAD BILL. 


21 


court may, at the time of hearing such application, upon 
a like finding, continue the temporary stay or suspension 
in whole or in part until its decision upon the application. 

Sec. 4. That from and after the passage of this Act all 
cases and proceedings in the commerce court which, but 
for this Act would be brought by or against the Inter¬ 
state Commerce Commission shall be brought by or against 
the United States, and the United States may intervene in 
any case or proceeding in the commerce court whenever, 
though it has not been made a party, public interests are 
involved. 

Sec. 5. That the Attorney-General shall have charge, 
and control, of the interests of the Government in all cases 
and proceedings in the commerce court and in the Su¬ 
preme Court of the United States upon appeal from the 
commerce court; and if in his opinion the public interest 
requires it, may retain and employ in the name of the 
United States such special attorneys and counselors at law 
as he may think necessary to assist in the discharge of any 
of the duties incumbent upon him and his subordinate 
attorneys; and the Attorney-General shall stipulate with 
such special attorneys and counsel the amount of their 
compensation and shall have supervision of their action: 
Provided , That parties in interest to the proceeding 
before the commission, in which an order or requirement 
is made, may appear and be represented by their counsel, 
upon such terms as the court may prescribe, in any suit 
wherein is involved the validity of such order or require¬ 
ment or any part thereof, and the interest of such party; 
but such appearance and representation shall not inter¬ 
fere with the control of the case by the Attorney-General, 
and the court wherein is pending such suit may make all 
such rules and orders as to such appearances and repre¬ 
sentations, the number of counsel, and all matter of pro- 


22 


RAILROAD BILL. 


cedure, and otherwise, as to subserve the ends of justice 
and speed the determination of such suits. 

Sec. 6. That until the opening of the commerce court 
as in section one hereof provided, all cases and proceedings 
of which from that time the commerce court is hereby 
given exclusive jurisdiction may be brought in the same 
courts and conducted in like manner and with like effect 
as is now provided by law; and if any such case or pro¬ 
ceeding shall have gone to final judgment or decree 
before the opening of said court, appeal may be taken 
from such final judgment or decree in like manner and 
with like effect as is now provided by law. Any such 
case or proceeding within the jurisdiction of the com¬ 
merce court which may have been begun in any other 
court as hereby allowed before the said date shall be 
forthwith transferred to the commerce court, if it has not 
yet proceeded to final judgment or decree in such other 
court unless it has been finally submitted for the decision 
of such court, in which case the cause shall proceed in 
the circuit court to final judgment or decree and further 
proceeding thereafter, and appeal may be taken direct to 
the Supreme Court, and if remanded such cause may be 
sent back to the circuit court or to the commerce court for 
further proceeding as the Supreme Court shall direct; 
and all previous proceedings in such transferred case shall 
stand and operate notwithstanding the transfer, subject 
to the same control over them by the commerce court and 
to the same right of subsequent action in the case or pro¬ 
ceeding as if the transferred case or proceeding had been 
originally begun in the commerce court. The clerk of 
the court from which any case or proceeding is so trans¬ 
ferred to the commerce court shall transmit to and file in 
the commerce court the originals of all papers filed in 
such case or proceeding and a certified transcript of all 


RAILROAD BILL. 


23 


record entries in the case or proceeding up to the time of 
transfer. 

Sec. 6a. That section one of the Act entitled “An 
Act to regulate commerce,” approved February fourth, 
eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, as heretofore 
amended, is hereby now amended so as to read as follows: 

“ Section 1 . That the provisions of this Act shall 
apply to any corporation or any person or persons engaged 
in the transportation of oil or other commodity, except 
water and except natural or artificial gas, by means of 
pipe lines, or partly by pipe lines and partly by railroad, 
or partly by pipe lines and partly by water, who shall be 
considered and held to be common carriers within the 
meaning and purpose of this Act, and to any common 
carrier or carriers engaged in the transportation of pas¬ 
sengers or property wholly by railroad (or partly by rail¬ 
road and partly by water when both are used under a 
common control, management, or arrangement for a con¬ 
tinuous carriage or shipment), from one State, Territory, 
or District of the United States, to any other State, Ter¬ 
ritory, or District of the United States, or from one place 
in a Territory or District to another place in the same 
Territory or District, or from any place in the United 
States to an adjacent foreign country, or from any place 
in the United States through a foreign country to any 
other place in the United States, and also to the trans¬ 
portation in like manner of property shipped from any¬ 
place in the United States to a foreign country and carried 
from such place to a port of transshipment, or shipped 
from a foreign country to any place in the United States 
and carried to such place from a port of entry either in 
the United States or an adjacent foreign country. 

The term 'common carrier’ as used in this Act shall 
include express companies and sleeping-car companies. 


24 


RAILROAD BILL. 


The term -railroad/ as used in this Act shall include all 
bridges and ferries used or operated in connection with 
any railroad, and also all the road in use by any corpora¬ 
tion operating a railroad, whether owned or operated 
under a contract, agreement, or lease, and shall also 
include all switches, spurs, tracks, and terminal facilities 
of every kind used or necessary in the transportation of 
the persons or property designated herein, and also all 
freight depots, yards, and grounds used or necessary in the 
transportation or delivery of any of said property; and the 
term Transportation' shall include cars and other vehicles 
and all instrumentalities and facilities of shipment or car¬ 
riage, irrespective of ownership or of any contract, express 
or implied, for the use thereof and all services in connec¬ 
tion with the receipt, delivery, elevation, and transfer in 
transit, ventilation, refrigeration or icing, storage, and 
handling of property transported ; and it shall be the duty 
of every carrier subject to the provisions of this Act to 
provide and furnish such transportation upon reasonable 
request therefor, and to establish through routes and just 
and reasonable rates applicable thereto; and to provide 
reasonable facilities for operating such through routes, 
and to exchange, interchange, and return cars used therein, 
and to make reasonable rules and regulations with respect 
thereto and for operation of such through routes, and pro¬ 
viding for reasonable compensation to those entitled 
thereto, for the use of, injury to, destruction or loss of any 
of such cars on the line of any carrier operating a part of 
such through or joint routes. 

“All charges made for any service rendered or to be 
rendered in the transportation of passengers or property as 
aforesaid, or in connection therewith, shall be just and 
reasonable; and every unjust and unreasonable charge for 


RAILROAD BILL. 


25 


such service or any part thereof is prohibited and declared 
to be unlawful. 

“And it is hereby made the duty of all common car¬ 
riers subject to the provisions of this Act to establish, ob¬ 
serve, and enforce just and reasonable classifications of 
property for transportation, with reference to which rates, 
tariffs, regulations, or practices are or may be made or pre¬ 
scribed, and just and reasonable regulations and practices 
affecting classifications, rates, or tariffs, the issuance, form, 
and substance of tickets, receipts, and bills of lading, the 
manner and method of presenting, marking, packing, and 
delivering property for transportation, the facilities for 
transportation, the carrying of personal, sample, and ex¬ 
cess baggage, and all other matters relating to or con¬ 
nected with the receiving, handling, transporting, stor¬ 
ing, and delivery of property subject to the provisions of 
this Act which may be necessary or convenient to secure 
the safe and prompt receipt, handling, transportation, 
and delivery of property subject to the provisions of this 
Act upon just and reasonable terms, and every unjust and 
unreasonable classification, regulation, and practice is 
prohibited and declared to be unlawful. 

''No common carrier subject to the provisions of this 
Act shall, after January first, nineteen hundred and 
seven, directly or indirectly, issue or give any interstate 
free ticket, free pass, or free transportation for passengers, 
except to its employees and their families, its officers, 
agents, surgeons, physicians, and attorneys at law; to 
ministers of religion, traveling secretaries of railroad 
Young Men's Christian Associations, inmates of hospitals 
and charitable and eleemosynary institutions, and per¬ 
sons exclusively engaged in charitable and eleemosynary 
work; to indigent, destitute, and homeless persons, and 
to such persons when transported by charitable societies 


26 


RAILROAD BILL. 


or hospitals, and the necessary agents employed in such 
transportation; to inmates of the National Homes or 
State Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, and of 
Soldiers' and Sailors' Homes, including those about to 
enter and those returning home after discharge, and 
boards of managers of such homes; to necessary care tak¬ 
ers of live stock, poultry, milk, and fruit; to employees 
on sleeping cars, express cars, and to linemen of telegraph 
and telephone companies; to Railway Mail Service em¬ 
ployees, post-office inspectors, customs inspectors, and 
immigration inspectors; to newsboys on trains, baggage 
agents, witnesses attending any legal investigation in 
which the common carrier is interested, persons injured 
in wrecks and physicians and nurses attending such per¬ 
sons: Provided , That this provision shall not.be con¬ 
strued to prohibit the interchange of passes for the officers, 
agents, and employees of common carriers, and their fam¬ 
ilies; nor to prohibit any common carrier from carrying 
passengers free with the object of providing relief in cases 
of general epidemic, pestilence, or other calamitous visita¬ 
tion: Provided further , That the term ‘employees' as 
used in this paragraph shall include furloughed, pen¬ 
sioned, and superannuated employees, persons who have 
become disabled or infirm in the service of any such com¬ 
mon carrier, and the remains of a person killed in the 
employment of a carrier and ex-employees traveling for 
the purpose of entering the service of any such common 
carrier; and the term 'families' as used in this paragraph 
shall include the families of those persons named in this 
proviso, also the families of persons killed while in the 
service of any such common carrier. Any common carrier 
violating this provision shall be deemed guilty of a mis¬ 
demeanor, and for each offense, on conviction, shall pay 
to the United States a penalty of not less than one hun- 


RAILROAD BILL. 


27 


dred dollars nor more than two thousand dollars, and any 
person, other than the persons excepted in this provision, 
who uses any such interstate free ticket, free pass, or free 
transportation shall be subject to a like penalty. Juris¬ 
diction of offenses under this provision shall be the same 
as that provided for offenses in an Act entitled 'An Act 
to further regulate commerce with foreign nations and 
among the States/ approved February nineteenth, nine¬ 
teen hundred and three, and any amendment thereof. 

“ From and after May first, nineteen hundred and eight, 
it shall be unlawful for any railroad company to transport 
from any State, Territory, or the District of Columbia, to 
any other State, Territory, or the District of Columbia, 
or to any foreign country, any article or commodity, other 
than timber and the manufactured products thereof, man¬ 
ufactured, mined, or produced by it, or under its authority, 
or which it may own in whole, or in part, or in which it 
may have any interest, direct or indirect, except such 
articles or commodities as may be necessary and intended 
for its use in the conduct of its business as a common 
carrier. 

"Any common carrier subject to the provisions of this 
Act, upon application of any lateral, branch line of rail¬ 
road, or of any shipper tendering interstate traffic for 
transportation, shall construct, maintain, and operate 
upon reasonable terms a switch connection with any such 
lateral, branch line of railroad, or private side track which 
may be constructed to connect with its railroad, where 
such connection is reasonably practicable and can be put 
in with safety and will furnish sufficient business to justify 
the construction and maintenance of the same; and shall 
furnish cars for the movement of such traffic to the best 
of its ability without discrimination in favor of or against 
any such shipper. If any common carrier shall fail to 


28 


RAILROAD BILL. 


install and operate any such switch or connection as 
aforesaid, on application therefor in writing by any ship¬ 
per or owner of such lateral, branch line of railroad, such 
shipper or owner of such lateral, branch line of railroad 
may make complaint to the commission, as provided in 
section thirteen of this Act, and* the commission shall 
hear and investigate the same and shall determine as to 
the safety and practicability thereof and justification and 
reasonable compensation therefor, and the commission 
may make an order, as provided in section fifteen of this 
Act, directing the common carrier to comply with the 
provisions of this section in accordance with such order, 
and such order shall be enforced as hereinafter provided 
for the enforcement of all other orders by the commission, 
other than orders for the payment of money. ” 

Sec. 6b. That section four of said Act to regulate com¬ 
merce be amended so as to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 4. That it shall be unlawful for any common 
carrier subject to the provisions of this Act to charge or 
receive any greater compensation in the aggregate for the 
transportation of passengers, or of like kind of property, 
for a shorter than for a longer distance over the same line 
or route in the same direction, the shorter being included 
within the longer distance, or to charge any greater com¬ 
pensation as a through route than the aggregate of the 
local rates; but this shall not be construed as authoriz¬ 
ing any common carrier within the terms of this Act to 
charge or receive as great compensation for a shorter as 
for a longer distance: Provided , however , That upon 
application to the Interstate Commerce Commission such 
common carrier may in special cases, after investigation, 
be authorized by the commission to charge less for longer 
than for shorter distances for the transportation of pas¬ 
sengers or property; and the commission may from time 


RAILROAD BILL. 


29 


to time prescribe the extent to which such designated 
common carrier may be relieved from the operation of this 
section : Provided further , That no rates or charges law¬ 
fully existing at the time of the passage of this amenda¬ 
tory Act shall be required to be changed by reason of the 
provisions of this section prior to the expiration of six 
months after the passage of this Act, nor in any case where 
application shall have been filed before the commission, 
in accordance with the provisions of this section, until 
a determination of such application by the commission.’’ 

Sec. 7. That section five of said Act to regulate com¬ 
merce, as heretofore amended, is hereby now amended so 
as to read as follows: 

“Agreements between common carriers subject to this 
Act specifying the classifications of freight and the rates, 
fares, and charges for transportation of passengers and 
freight which they agree to establish shall not be unlaw¬ 
ful under this Act as amended or under the Act approved 
July second, eighteen hundred and ninety, entitled ‘An 
Act to protect trade and commerce against unlawful re¬ 
straints and monopolies,’ or otherwise if a copy of such 
agreement in such form and in such detail as the commis¬ 
sion may prescribe is filed with the Interstate Commerce 
Commission within twenty days after it is made, and 
before or when any schedule of any rate, fare, or charge, or 
any classification made pursuant to the agreement is filed 
with the commission; but all provisions of this Act as 
amended, and any future amendments thereof shall apply 
to such agreed rates, fares, and charges, and such agreed 
classifications, and the Interstate Commerce Commission 
shall have like control over and power of action concern¬ 
ing any agreed rate, fare, charge, or classification, includ¬ 
ing suspension of the rate or classification before it becomes 
effective, and pending investigation of its propriety, as if 


30 


RAILROAD BILL. 


the rate, fare, charge, or classification had been made with¬ 
out agreement, and any party to such agreement may cancel 
it as to all or any of the agreed rates, fares, charges, or clas¬ 
sifications by thirty days’ notice in writing to the other 
parties and to the Interstate Commerce Commission, and 
such agreement of carriers, though filed with the commis¬ 
sion, shall not be deemed a tariff or schedule of rates, fares, 
or charges collectible from the public, or operate itself to 
alter any such tariff or schedule whensoever filed and pub¬ 
lished. But it shall be unlawful for any common carrier 
subject to the provisions of this Act to enter into any con¬ 
tract, agreement, or combination with any other common 
carrier or carriers for the pooling of traffic of different ahd 
competing railroads, or to divide between them the aggre¬ 
gate or net proceeds of the earnings of such railroads, or 
any portion thereof; and in any case of an agreement for 
the pooling of traffic as aforesaid each day of its continuance 
shall be deemed a separate offense.” 

Sec. 8. That section six of said Act to regulate com¬ 
merce, as heretofore amended, is hereby now amended 
by adding three new paragraphs at the end thereof, as 
follows: 

“ In case of failure or refusal on the part of any carrier, 
receiver, or trustee to comply with the terms of any regu¬ 
lation adopted and promulgated or any order made by the 
commission under the provisions of this section, such car¬ 
rier, receiver, or trustee shall be liable to a penalty of five 
hundred dollars for each such offense, and twenty-five dol¬ 
lars for each and every day of the continuance of such 
offense, which shall accrue to the United States and may 
be recovered in a civil action brought by the United 
States. 

“ If any common carrier subject to this Act, after writ¬ 
ten request made upon the agent of such carrier hereinafter 


RAILROAD BILL. 


31 


in this section referred to by any person or company for a 
written statement of the rate or charge applicable to a de¬ 
scribed shipment between stated places under the sched¬ 
ules or tariffs to which such ckrrier is a party, shall refuse 
or omit to give such written statement within a reasonable 
time, or shall misstate in writing the applicable rate, and 
if the person or company making such request suffers dam¬ 
age in consequence of such refusal or omission or in conse¬ 
quence of the misstatement of the rate, either through 
making the shipment over a line or route for which the 
proper rate is higher than the rate over another available 
line or route, or through entering into any sale or other 
contract whereunder such person or company obligates 
himself or itself to make such shipment of freight at his or 
its cost, then the said carrier shall be liable to a penalty of 
two hundred and fifty dollars, which shall accrue to the 
United States and may be recovered in a civil action 
brought by the United States. 

“It shall be the duty of every such common carrier to 
keep at all times conspicuously posted in every station 
where freight is received for transportation the name of 
an agent resident in the city, village, or town where such 
station is located, to whom application may be made for 
the information by this section required to be furnished on 
written request; and in case any carrier shall fail at any 
time to have such name so posted in any station, it shall 
be sufficient to address such request in substantially the 
following form : ‘ The Station Agent of the-Com¬ 
pany at-Station, ’ together with the name of the 

proper post-office, inserting the name of the carrier com¬ 
pany and of the station in the blanks, and to serve the 
same by depositing the request so addressed, with postage 
thereon prepaid, in any post-office." 




32 


RAILROAD BILL. 


Sec. 8a. That section ten of said Act to regulate com¬ 
merce, as heretofore amended, be now amended so as to 
read as follows: 

“Sec. 10. That any common carrier subject to the 
provisions of this Act, or, whenever such common carrier 
is a corporation, any director or officer thereof, or any 
receiver, trustee, lessee, agent, or person acting for or 
employed by such corporation, who, alone or with any 
other corporation, company, person, or party, shall will¬ 
fully do or cause to be done, or shall willingly suffer or 
permit to be done, any act, matter, or thing in this Act 
prohibited or declared to be unlawful, or who shall aid 
or abet therein, or shall willfully omit or fail to do any 
act, matter, or thing in this Act required to be done, or 
shall cause or willingly suffer or permit any act, matter, 
or thing so directed or required by this Act to be done 
not to be so done, or shall aid or abet any such omission 
or failure, or shall be guilty of any infraction of this Act, 
or shall aid or abet therein, shall be deemed guilty of a 
misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction thereof in any 
district court of the United States within the jurisdiction 
of which such offense was committed, be subject to a fine 
of not to exceed five thousand dollars for each offense: 
Provided , That if the offense for which any person shall 
be convicted as aforesaid shall be an unlawful discrimi¬ 
nation in rates, fares, or charges for the transportation of 
passengers or property, such person shall, in addition to 
the fine hereinbefore provided for, be liable to imprison¬ 
ment in the penitentiary for a term of not exceeding two 
years, or both such fine and imprisonment, in the discre¬ 
tion of the court. 

“ Any common carrier subject to the provisions of this 
Act, or, whenever such common carrier is a corporation, 
any officer or agent thereof, or any person acting for or 


RAILROAD BILL. 


33 


employed by such corporation, who, by means of false 
billing, false classification, false weighing, or false report 
of weight, or by any other device or means, shall know¬ 
ingly and willfully assist, or shall willingly suffer or per¬ 
mit, any person or persons to obtain transportation for 
property at less than the regular rates then established 
and in force on the line of transportation of such common 
carrier, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and 
shall, upon conviction thereof in any court of the United 
States of competent jurisdiction within the district in 
which such offense was committed, be subject to a fine of 
not exceeding five thousand dollars, or imprisonment in 
the penitentiary for a term of not exceeding two years, 
or both, in the discretion of the court, for each offense. 

“Any person, corporation, or company, or any agent or 
officer thereof, who shall deliver property for transporta¬ 
tion to any common carrier subject to the provisions of 
this Act, or for whom, as consignor or consignee, any 
such carrier shall transport property, who shall know¬ 
ingly and willfully directly or indirectly, himself or by 
employee, agent, officer, or otherwise, by false billing, 
false classification, false weighing, false representation 
of the contents of the package or the substance of the pro¬ 
perty, false report of weight, false statement, or by any 
other device or means, whether with or without the 
consent or connivance of the carrier, its agent, or officer, 
obtain transportation for such property at less than the 
regular rates then established and in force on the line of 
transpdrtation, or who shall knowingly and willfully, 
directly or indirectly, himself or by employee, agent, 
officer, or otherwise, by false statement or representation 
as to cost, value, nature, or extent of injury, or by the use of 
any false bill, bill of lading, receipt, voucher, roll, account, 
claim, certificate, affidavit, or deposition, knowing the 

H. Rep. 923, 61-2-3 


34 


RAILROAD BILL. 


same to be false, fictitious, or fraudulent, or to contain 
any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement, or entry, 
obtain any allowance, refund,.or payment for damage or 
otherwise in connection with or growing out of the 
transportation of or agreement to transport such property, 
whether wdth or without the consent or connivance of 
the carrier, whereby the compensation of such carrier for 
such transportation, either before or after payment, shall 
in fact be made less than the regular rates then estab¬ 
lished and in force on the line of transportation, shall be 
deemed guilty of fraud, wdiich is hereby declared to be a 
misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction thereof in any 
court of the United States of competent jurisdiction 
within the district in which such offense was wholly or in 
part committed, be subject for each offense to a fine of not 
exceeding five thousand dollars or imprisonment in the 
penitentiary for a term of not exceeding two years, or 
both, in the discretion of the court: Provided , That the 
penalty of imprisonment shall not apply to 1 artificial 
persons. 

“ If any such person, or any officer or agent of any such 
corporation or company, shall, by payment of money or 
other thing of value, solicitation, or otherwise, induce any 
common carrier subject to the provisions of this Act, or any 
of its officers or agents, to discriminate unjustly in his, its, 
or their favor as against any other consignor or consignee 
in the transportation of property, or shall aid or abet any 
common carrier in any such unjust discrimination, such 
person or such officer or agent of such corporation or com¬ 
pany shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, 
upon conviction thereof in any court of the United States 
of competent jurisdiction within the district in which such 
offense .was committed, be subject to a fine of not exceed¬ 
ing five thousand dollars, or imprisonment in the peniten- 


RAILROAD BILL. 


35 


tiary for a term of not exceeding two years, or both, in the 
discretion of the court, for each offense; and such person, 
corporation, or company shall also, together with said 
common carrier, be liable, jointly or severally, in an action 
to be brought by any consignor or consignee discriminated 
against in any court of the United States of competent 
jurisdiction for all damages caused by or resulting there¬ 
from. ’ ’ 

Sec. 8b. That section thirteen of said Act to regulate 
commerce be amended so as to read as follows: 

“Sec. 13. That any person, firm, corporation, com¬ 
pany, or association, or any mercantile, agricultural, or 
manufacturing society or other organization, or any body 
politic or municipal organization, or any common carrier, 
complaining of anything done or omitted to be done by 
any common carrier, subject to the provisions of this Act, 
in contravention of the provisions thereof, or relating in 
any way to the rates demanded, charged, or collected by 
any common carrier, subject to the provisions of this Act, 
for the transportation of persons or property, as defined in 
section one of this Act', or relating to or affecting any 
classification of property with reference to which such 
rates exist, or relating to or affecting any regulations or 
practices whatsoever of such carrier, or of the failure of 
such carrier to establish, observe, and enforce just and 
reasonable classifications of property and just and reason¬ 
able regulations and practices, as required by section one 
of this Act may apply to said commission by petition, 
which shall briefly state the facts; whereupon a state¬ 
ment of the complaint thus made shall be forwarded by 
the commission to such common carrier, who shall be 
called upon to satisfy the complaint, or to answer the 
same in writing, within a reasonable time, to be specified 
by the commission. If such common carrier within the 


36 


KAILROAD BILL. 


time specified shall make reparation for the injury alleged 
to have been done, the common carrier shall be relieved 
of liability to the complainant only for the particular 
violation of law thus complained of. If such carrier or 
carriers shall not satisfy the complaint within the time 
specified, or there shall appear to be any reasonable 
ground for investigating said complaint, it shall be the 
duty of the commission to investigate the matters com¬ 
plained of in such manner and by such means as it shall 
deem proper. 

“ Said commission shall, in like manner and with the 
same authority and powers, investigate any complaint 
forwarded by the railroad commissioner or railroad com¬ 
mission of any State of Territory at the request of such 
commissioner or commission, and the Interstate Com¬ 
merce Commission shall have full authority and power 
at any time to institute an inquiry, on its own motion, in 
any case and as to any matter or thing concerning which 
a complaint is authorized to be made, to or before said 
commission by any provision of this Act, or concerning 
which any question may arise under any of the provisions 
of this Act, or relating to the enforcement of any of the 
provisions of this Act, by any common carrier, subject to 
its provisions or the enforcement of any authority granted 
by this Act to the said commission. And the said com¬ 
mission shall have the same powers and authority to pro¬ 
ceed with any inquiry instituted on its own motion as 
though it had been appealed to by complaint or petition 
under any of the provisions of this Act, including the 
power to make and enforce any order or orders in the 
case, or relating to the matter or thing concerning which 
the inquiry is had. No complaint shall at any time be 
dismissed because of the absence of direct damage to the 
complainant/’ 


RAILROAD BILL. 


37 


Sec. 9. That section fifteen of said Act to regulate 
commerce, as heretofore amended, is hereby now amended 
so as to read as follows * 

“Sec. 15. That whenever, after full hearing upon a 
complaint made as provided in section thirteen of this Act, 
or after full hearing under an order for investigation and 
hearing made by the commission on its own initiative 
(either in extension of any pending complaint or without 
any complaint whatever), the commission shall be of 
opinion that any individual or joint rates or charges what¬ 
soever demanded, charged, or collected by any common 
carrier or carriers subject to the provisions of this Act for 
the transportation of persons or property as defined in 
the first section of this Act, or that any individual or joint 
classifications, regulations, or practices whatsoever of such 
carrier or carriers are unjust or unreasonable or unjustly 
discriminatory, or unduly preferential or prejudicial, or 
otherwise in violation of any of the provisions of this Act, 
the commission is hereby authorized and empowered to 
determine and prescribe what will be the just and reason¬ 
able individual or joint rate or rates, charge or charges, to 
be thereafter observed in such case as the maximum to be 
charged, and what individual or joint classification, regu¬ 
lation, or practice is just, fair, and reasonable, to be there¬ 
after followed, and to make an order that the carrier or 
carriers shall cease and desist from such violation to the 
extent to which the commission finds the same to exist, 
and shall not thereafter publish, demand, or collect any 
rate or charge for such transportation in excess of the 
maximum rate or charge so prescribed, and shall adopt the 
classification and shall conform to and establish, observe, 
and enforce the regulation or practice so prescribed. And 
where the action of the commission is with respect to 
terminal, switching, icing, storage, elevation, or other 


38 


RAILROAD BILL. 


special charges, which are only made when the through 
rate for the transportation is also imposed, and such special 
charges become part of the aggregate of charges for the 
entire service, the commission may consider such special 
charges separately or in connection with the total charges 
or rates and prescribe the maximum rates and charges 
which in the aggregate or separately are just and reason¬ 
able. All orders of the commission, except orders for the 
payment of money, shall take effect within such reason¬ 
able time, not less than thirty days, and shall continue in 
force for such period of time, not exceeding two years, as 
shall be prescribed in the order of the commission, unless 
the same shall be suspended or modified or set aside by the 
commission, or be suspended or set aside by a court of 
competent jurisdiction. Whenever the carrier or carriers, 
in obedience to such order of the commission or otherwise, 
in respect to joint rates, fares, or charges, shall fail to 
agree among themselves upon the apportionment or 
division thereof the commission may, after hearing, make 
a supplemental order prescribing the just and reasonable 
proportion of such joint rate to be received by each carrier 
party thereto, which order shall take effect as a part of the 
original order. 

“ Whenever there shall be filed with the commission 
any schedule stating a new individual or joint rate, fare, 
or charge, or any new individual or joint classification, or 
any new individual or joint regulation or practice the com¬ 
mission shall have, and it is hereby given, authority, 
either upon complaint or upon its own initiative without 
complaint, at once, and if it so orders, without answer or 
other formal pleading by the interested carrier or carriers, 
but upon reasonable notice, to enter upon a hearing con¬ 
cerning the propriety of such rate, fare, charge, classifica¬ 
tion, regulation, or practice; and pending such hearing 


RAILROAD BILL. 


39 


and the decision thereon the commission upon filing with 
such schedule and delivering to the carrier or carriers 
affected thereby a statement in writing of its reasons for 
such suspension may suspend the operation of such sched¬ 
ule and defer the use of such rate, fare, charge, classifica¬ 
tion, regulation, or practice, but not for a longer period 
than one hundred and twenty days beyond the time when 
such rate, fare, charge, classification, regulation, or prac¬ 
tice would otherwise go into effect; and after full hearing, 
whether completed before or after the rate, fare, charge, 
classification, regulation, or practice goes into effect, the 
commission may make such order in reference to such rate, 
fare, charge, classification, regulation, or practice as would 
be proper in a proceeding initiated after the rate, fare, 
charge, classification, regulation, or practice had become 
effective. 

“ The commission may also, after hearing, on a com¬ 
plaint or upon its own initiative without complaint, es¬ 
tablish through routes and joint classifications, and may 
establish joint rates as the maximum to be charged and 
may prescribe the division of such rates as hereinbefore 
provided and the terms and conditions under which such 
through routes shall be operated, whenever the carriers 
themselves shall have refused or neglected to establish 
voluntarily such through routes or joint classifications or 
joint rates; and this provision shall apply when one of 
the connecting carriers is a water line. But this Act shall 
not, be construed to affect traffic originating and ending 
on the line of any water carrier and transported wholly by 
water and shall not be held to affect the limitation of lia¬ 
bility of water carriers as now provided by law. The 
commission shall not, however, establish any through 
route, classification, or rate between street electric passen¬ 
ger railways not engaged in the general business of trans- 


40 


RAILROAD BILL. 


porting freight in addition to their passenger business and 
railroads of a different character. 

“ In all cases where at the time of delivery of property 
to any railroad corporation being a common carrier, for 
transportation subject to the provisions of this Act to any 
point of destination, between which and the point of such 
delivery for shipment there are two or more through 
routes, the person, firm, or corporation making such ship¬ 
ment, subject to such reasonable exceptions and regula¬ 
tions as the Interstate Commerce Commission shall from 
time to time prescribe, shall have the right to designate 
in writing by which of such through routes such property 
shall be transported to destination, and it shall thereupon 
be the duty of the initial carrier to route said property 
and issue a through bill of lading therefor as so directed, 
and to transport said property over its own line oi\ lines 
and deliver the same to a connecting line or lines accord¬ 
ing to such through route, and it shall be the duty of each 
of said connecting carriers to receive said property and 
transport it over the said line or lines and deliver the same 
to the next succeeding carrier or consignee according to 
such routing instructions. 

“If the owner of property transported under this Act 
directly or indirectly renders any service connected with 
such transportation, or furnishes any instrumentality used 
therein, the charge and allowance therefor shall be no 
more than is just and reasonable, and the commission may, 
after hearing on a complaint or on its own initiative, 
determine what is a reasonable charge as the maximum to 
be paid by the carrier or carriers for the services so ren¬ 
dered or for the use of the instrumentality so furnished, 
and fix the same by appropriate order, which order shall 
have the same force and effect and be enforced in like 
manner as the orders above provided for under this section. 


RAILROAD BILL. 


41 


“ The foregoing enumeration of powers shall not exclude 
any power which the commission would otherwise have in 
the making of an order under the provisions of this Act.” 

Sec. 10. That section sixteen of said Act to regulate 
commerce, as heretofore amended, is hereby now amended 
so as to read as follows: 

“ Sec. 16. That if, after hearing on a complaint made 
as provided in section thirteen of this Act, the commission 
shall determine that any party complainant is entitled to 
an award of damages under the provisions of this Act for 
a violation thereof, the commission shall make an order 
directing the carrier to pay to the complainant the sum 
to which he is entitled on or before a day named. 

“If a carrier does not comply with an order for the 
payment of money within the time limit in such order, the 
complainant, or any person for whose benefit such order 
was made, may file in the circuit court of the United States 
for the district in which he resides or in which is located 
the principal operating office of the carrier, or through 
which the road of the carrier runs, a petition setting forth 
briefly the causes for which he claims damages, and the 
order of the commission in the premises. Such suit shall 
proceed in all respects like other civil suits for damages, 
except that on the trial of such suit the findings and order 
of the commission shall be prima facie evidence of the 
facts therein stated, and except that the petitioner shall 
not be liable for costs in the circuit court nor for costs at any 
subsequent stage of the proceedings unless they accrue 
upon his appeal. If the petitioner shall finally prevail lie 
shall be allowed a reasonable attorney’s fee, to be taxed 
and collected as a part of the costs of the suit. All com¬ 
plaints for the recovery of damages shall be filed with the 
commission within two years from the time the cause of 
action accrues, and not after, and a petition for the em 


42 


KAILROAD BILL. 


foreement of an order for the payment of money shall be 
filed in the circuit court within one year from the date of 
the order, and not after: Provided , That claims accrued 
prior to the passage of this Act may be presented within 
one year. 

“ In such suits all parties in whose favor the commis¬ 
sion may have made an award for damages by a single 
order may be joined as plaintiffs, and all of the carriers 
parties to such order awarding such damages may be 
joined as defendants,* and such suit may be maintained 
by such joint plaintiffs and against such joint defendants 
in any district where any one of such joint plaintiffs 
could maintain such suit against any one of such joint 
defendants; and service of process against any one of such 
defendants as may not be found in the district where the 
suit is brought may be made in any district where such 
defendant carrier has its principal operating office. In 
case of such joint suit the recovery, if any, may be by 
judgment in favor of any one of such plaintiffs, against 
the defendant found to be liable to such plaintiff. 

“ Every order of the commission shall be forthwith 
served by mailing to any one of the principal officers or 
agents of the carrier at his usual place of business a copy 
thereof; and the registry mail receipt shall be prima 
facie evidence of the receipt of such order by the carrier 
in due course of mail. 

“The commission shall be authorized to suspend or 
modify its orders upon such notice and in such manner as 
it. shall deem proper. 

“ It shall be the duty of every common carrier, its agents 
and employees, to observe and comply with such orders so 
long as the same shall remain in effect. 

“Any carrier, any officer, representative, or agent of 
a carrier, or any receiver, trustee, lessee, or agent of either 


RAILROAD BILL. 


43 


of them, who knowingly fails or neglects to obey any 
order made under the provisions of section fifteen of this 
Act shall forfeit to the United States the sum of five thou¬ 
sand dollars for each offense. Every distinct violation 
shall be a separate offense, and in case of a continuing 
violation each day shall be deemed a separate offense. 

*‘The forfeiture provided for in this Act shall be pay¬ 
able into the Treasury of the United States, and shall be 
recoverable in a civil suit in the name of the United States, 
brought in the district where the carrier has its principal 
operating office, or in any district through which the road 
of the carrier runs. 

“It shall be the duty of the various district attorneys, 
under the direction of the Attorney-General of the United 
States, to prosecute for the recovery of forfeitures. The 
costs and expenses of such prosecution shall be paid out of 
the appropriation for the expenses of the courts of the 
United States. 

“ The commission may employ such attorneys as it finds 
necessary for proper legal aid and service of the commission 
or its members in the conduct of their work or for proper 
representation of- the public interests in investigations 
made by it or cases or proceedings pending before it, 
whether at the commission’s own instance or upon com¬ 
plaint; and the expenses of such employment shall be 
paid out of the appropriation for the commission. 

‘ i If any carrier fails or neglects to obey any order of the 
commission other than for the payment of money, while 
the same is in effect, any party injured thereby, or the 
United States, by its Attorney-General, may apply to the 
commerce court for enforcement of such order. If, after 
hearing, that court determines that the order was regu¬ 
larly made and duly served, and that the carrier is in dis¬ 
obedience of the same, the court shall enforce obedience 


44 


RAILROAD BILL. 


to such order by a writ of injunction or other proper proc¬ 
ess, mandatory or otherwise, to restrain such carrier, its 
officers, agents, or representatives, from further disobe¬ 
dience of such order, or to enjoin upon it or them obedience 
to the same. 

“The copies of schedules and classifications and tariffs 
of rates, fares, and charges, and of all contracts, agree¬ 
ments, and arrangements between common carriers filed 
with the commission as herein provided, and the statistics, 
tables, and figures contained in the annual or other 
reports of carriers made to the commission as required 
under the provisions of this Act and certificates issued 
by the commission in accordance with any provision of 
law shall be preserved as public records in the custody of 
the secretary of the commission, and shall be received as 
prima facie evidence of what they purport to be for the 
purpose of investigations by the commission and in all 
judicial proceedings; and copies of and extracts from any 
of said schedules, classifications, tariffs, contracts, agree¬ 
ments, arrangements, reports, or certificates made public 
records as aforesaid, certified by the secretary, under the 
commission’s seal, shall be received in evidence with 
like effect as the originals.” 

Sec. 11. That section twenty of said Act to regulate 
commerce, as heretofore amended, is hereby amended by 
striking out the following paragraph: 

“Said detailed reports shall contain all the required 
statistics for the period of twelve months ending on the 
thirtieth day of June in each year, and shall be made out 
under oath and filed with the commission, at its office in 
Washington, on or before the thirtieth day of September 
then next following, unless additional time be granted in 
any case by the commission; and if any carrier, person, or 
corporation subject to the provisions of this Act shall fail 


RAILROAD BILL. 


45 


to make and file said annual reports within the time above 
specified, or within the time extended by the commission 
for making and filing the same, or shall fail to make specific 
answer to any question authorized by the provisions of 
this section within thirty days from the time it is lawfully 
required so to do, such parties shall forfeit to the United 
States the sum of one hundred dollars for each and every 
day it shall continue to be in default with respect thereto. 
The commission shall also have authority to require said 
carriers to file monthly reports of earnings and expenses or 
special reports within a specified period, and if any such 
carrier shall fail to file such reports within the time fixed 
by the commission it shall be subject to the forfeitures last 
above provided:” 

And by inserting in lieu of the paragraph so stricken 
out the following: 

‘ ‘ Said detailed reports shall contain all the required 
statistics for the period of twelve months ending on the 
thirtieth day of June in each year, or on the thirty-first 
day of December in each year if the commission by order 
substitute that period for the year ending June thirtieth, 
and shall be made out under oath and filed with the com¬ 
mission at its office in Washington within three months 
after the close of the year for which the report is made, 
unless additional time be granted in any case by the com¬ 
mission ; and if any carrier, person, or corporation subject 
to the provisions of this Act shall fail to make and file said 
annual reports within the time above specified, or within 
the time extended by the commission, for making and 
filing the same, or shall fail to make specific answer to any 
question authorized by the provisions of this section 
within thirty days from the time it is lawfully required so 
to do, such party shall forfeit to the United States the sum 
of one hundred dollars for each and every day it shall con- 


46 


RAILROAD BILL. 


tinue to be in default with respect thereto. The commis¬ 
sion shall also have authority by general or special orders 
to require said carriers, or any of them, to file monthly re¬ 
ports of earnings and expenses, and to file periodical or 
special, or both periodical and special, reports concerning 
any matters about which the commission is authorized or 
required by this or any other law to inquire or to keep itself 
informed or which it is required to enforce; and such peri¬ 
odical or special reports shall be under oath whenever the 
commission so requires; and if any such carrier shall fail 
to make and file any such periodical or special report 
within the time fixed by the commission, it shall be subject 
to the forfeitures last above provided.” 

Sec. 12. That no railroad corporation which is a com¬ 
mon carrier subject to the Act to regulate commerce, 
approved February fourth, eighteen hundred and eighty- 
seven, as amended, shall hereafter acquire, directly or 
indirectly, any interest of whatsoever kind in the capital 
stock of any railroad or water carrier corporation, or 
purchase or lease any railroad, or water line which is 
directly and substantially competitive with that of such 
first-named corporation, nor shall any water carrier cor¬ 
poration engaged in interstate commerce hereafter acquire, 
directly or indirectly, any interest of whatsoever kind in 
the capital stock of any railroad corporation, or purchase 
or lease any railroad, that is subject to the Act to regulate 
commerce and which is directly and substantially com¬ 
petitive with such water line; nor shall any such railroad 
or water carrier corporation have after the first day of * 
July, nineteen hundred and eleven, as an officer or a 
director any person who may also be at the same time an 
officer or director of any such competing corporation; and 
any corporation which acquires any interest in capital 
stock, or which purchases or leases a railroad or water 


RAILROAD BILL. 


47 


line contrary to this section, or which holds or retains 
any interest in capital stock or in a railroad or water line 
hereafter acquired in violation of this section, or wdiich 
shall have and retain as an officer or director after the 
first day of July, nineteen hundred and eleven, any 
person who is also an officer or director of any such com¬ 
peting corporation, shall be fined five thousand dollars 
for each day or part of day during which it holds or retains 
such interest unlawfully acquired, or retains such pro¬ 
hibited officer or director. 

Any attempted acquisition of an interest in capital 
stock, or the purchase or lease of a railroad or w r ater line, 
contrary to this section shall be void and may be enjoined 
by any court of competent jurisdiction at the suit of the 
United States; and the holding or retention of any inter¬ 
est in capital stock or the acquisition of a railroad or water 
line contrary to this section may likewise be enjoined in 
any court of competent jurisdiction at the suit of the 
United States; but any railroad or water carrier corpo¬ 
ration, being a common carrier as aforesaid, which pro¬ 
poses to acquire any interest in the capital stock or to lease 
or purchase a railroad or water line of any other corpora¬ 
tion may apply to the commerce court by its petition for 
that purpose, filed in advance of actual taking of such 
interest in capital stock or the acquisition of such railroad 
or water line, but after an agreement or contract for its 
acquisition has been made, with a stipulation therein 
that such agreement or contract shall take effect in case 
it is found by the commerce court not to violate this sec¬ 
tion, for an adjudication as between such corporation and 
the United States, whether or not the proposed acquisi¬ 
tion of an interest in the capital stock or the proposed 
purchase or lease of the railroad or water line of another 
corporation violates this section, and the adjudication 


48 


RAILROAD BILL. 


of the commerce court upon such application shall have 
the ordinary effect of judgments as an estoppel between 
the parties. 

The commerce court is hereby given jurisdiction to 
hear and determine such applications and to take all 
proper proceedings thereon; and the filing of said peti¬ 
tion shall be taken as a consent on the part of the cor¬ 
poration making the application that the commerce court 
issue at once an interlocutory injunction against the pro¬ 
posed acquisition pending final determination by the 
court concerning its legality hereunder. If the commerce 
court finally adjudges the proposed transaction to be 
unlawful, it shall by its decree permanently enjoin the 
proposed acquisition. In case the United States shall 
have sued to restrain the proposed acquisition in a court 
other than the commerce court before the corporation pro¬ 
posing to make such acquisition files its petition as afore¬ 
said in the commerce court, such suit of the United States 
shall be stayed pending the decision of the commerce 
court if it has not yet proceeded to final decree, and said 
suit of the United States shall be dismissed if the com¬ 
merce court finally adjudges that the proposed acquisition 
does not violate this section: Provided , That nothing 
herein contained shall be construed to affect in any way 
any suit or action pending at the passage of this Act, nor 
the rights or liabilities of any party thereto, nor to author¬ 
ize or validate the acquisition by a railroad corporation, 
being a common carrier subject to said Act to regulate 
commerce, as amended, of any interest in the capital 
stock, or the purchase or lease of the railroad or water 
line of any other railroad or water carrier company, in 
violation of any Act of Congress, including the Act ap¬ 
proved July second, eighteen hundred and ninety, enti¬ 
tled “An Act to protect trade and commerce against 


RAILROAD BILL. 


49 


unlawful restraints and monopolies:” And provided 
further, That the right to so apply to said commerce 
court shall not extend to any railroad corporation now 
holding stock in any other railroad corporation in viola¬ 
tion of any Act of Congress, including the said Act ap¬ 
proved July second, eighteen hundred and ninety, which 
holding is the subject or in any way involved in any suit 
or action pending at the date of the passage of this Act. 

Sec. 18 . That a new section be added to said Act to 
regulate commerce, to he numbered as section twenty-five, 
as follows: 

“Sec. 25. That no railroad corporation which is a 
common carrier subject to the provisions of this Act as 
amended shall hereafter issue for any purpose connected 
with or relating to any part of its business governed by 
the provisions of this Act as amended any stock, bonds, 
notes, or other evidences of indebtedness to an amount 
exceeding that which may from time to time be reason¬ 
ably necessary for the purpose for which such issue of 
stock, bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness 
may be authorized. 

“The amount of said securities to be thus issued, 
excepting notes maturing not more than two years from 
the date of their issue, shall be determined by the Inter¬ 
state Commerce Commission, and any sale of said securi¬ 
ties shall be at a price not less than their reasonable 
value, which, excepting as to notes maturing not more 
than two years from the date of their issue, shall he 
ascertained and fixed by the commission. Said commis¬ 
sion shall render a decision upon an application for such 
issue within thirty days after the final hearing thereon. 
Such decision shall be in writing, shall assign the reasons 
therefor, shall, if authorizing such issue, specify the 
respective amounts of stock, bonds, or notes or other 

H. Rep. 923, 61-2-4 


50 


RAILROAD BILL. 


evidences of indebtedness as aforesaid which are author¬ 
ized to be issued for the respective purposes to which the 
proceeds thereof are to be applied. A certificate of the 
decision of said commission shall, before the stock, bonds, 
or notes or other evidences of indebtedness as aforesaid 
are issued, be delivered to the corporation. Such corpo¬ 
ration shall not apply the proceeds of such stock, bonds, 
or notes or other evidences of indebtedness as aforesaid 
to any purpose not specified in such certificate, and no 
property, services, or other thing than money shall be 
taken in payment to the corporation of the required price 
of such stock, certificate of stock, bond, or other evidence 
of indebtedness, except at the fair value of such property, 
services, or other thing than money, which shall be 
ascertained by the Interstate Commerce Commission and 
stated in a certificate issued by it to such corporation, or 
to any person or persons intending to form such corpora¬ 
tion, and recorded with the commission before the issue 
of said stock, certificate of stock, or evidence of indebted¬ 
ness : Provided , That nothing herein contained shall be 
construed to prevent a corporation subject to this Act 
from issuing its stock, bonds, or other obligations to refund 
bonds or other obligations heretofore or hereafter issued 
and outstanding to an amount reasonably necessary for 
that purpose determined as hereinbefore provided. 

“No railroad corporation subject to the provisions of 
this Act as amended shall hereafter, for any purpose con¬ 
nected with or relating to any part of its business gov¬ 
erned by this Act, issue any capital stock convertible into 
other capital stock of such railroad corporation unless by 
the terms of the certificate representing the stock so con¬ 
vertible the amount, par value, of capital stock that the 
holder of such certificate is entitled to receive in exchange 
therefor shall be equal to or less than the par value of 


RAILROAD BILL. 


51 


the shares of stock represented by such certificate of con¬ 
vertible stock; but nothing contained in this Act shall 
be deemed to prohibit the issue by any such corporation 
of its capital stock in exchange for and in accordance with 
the terms of such convertible stock issued in accordance 
with the provisions of this paragraph. 

‘‘Nothing in this section contained shall be construed 
to prohibit the mortgage or pledge by any railroad corpo¬ 
ration subject to the provisions of this Act as amended of 
any bond or other evidence of indebtedness issued by such 
railroad corporation as security for or as part security for 
any note, bond, or other evidence of indebtedness issued 
by or loan made to such railroad corporation wTiich shall 
not be issued or made in violation of the provisions of this 
Act: Provided , That the terms of said loan and of such 
notes, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness, if any, 
shall provide that none of said pledged bonds or other evi¬ 
dences of indebtedness shall, upon nonpayment of the 
notes, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness which 
they are pledged to secure, or upon nonperformance of any 
of the conditions thereof, be sold or become the property 
of the holders of the notes, bonds, or other evidences of 
indebtedness so secured, either directly or through a trus¬ 
tee for their benefit, except at or through public sale, no¬ 
tice whereof shall be published at least once a week for 
not less than three successive weeks prior thereto in at 
least one daily newspaper of general circulation published 
in the place where such sale shall take place: And pro¬ 
vided further , That if such notes, bonds, or other evi¬ 
dences of indebtedness, if any, shall provide that the own¬ 
ers thereof shall have the right to convert the same into the 
bonds or other evidences of indebtedness so mortgaged or 
pledged, the Interstate Commerce Commission, previously 
to the making of such loan, shall have ascertained and 


52 


RAILROAD BILL. 


stated, in a certificate issued by the commission to such 
corporation, or to any person or persons intending to or¬ 
ganize such corporation and recorded with the commission 
or otherwise, as authorized by this Act, the reasonable 
market or selling value of such bonds or other evidences- 
of indebtedness so mortgaged or pledged and the rate 
which said reasonable market or selling value bears to the 
reasonable market or selling value of such secured notes, 
bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness, and that such 
secured notes, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness 
shall not provide that the owners thereof shall have the 
right, upon such conversion, to receive in exchange there¬ 
for bonds or other evidences of indebtedness so mortgaged 
or pledged to an amount greater than would be receivable 
at the rate so found and stated in such certificate of the 
commission. 

“ Nothing in this Act contained shall be taken to pro¬ 
hibit the issue of any bond or other evidence of indebted¬ 
ness pursuant to the terms of any instrument heretofore 
executed, provided the same shall not be sold except in 
conformity with the provisions of this section. 

“ Nothing in this Act contained shall in any way affect 
or impair the validity of any mortgage or pledge of any 
capital stock, certificate of stock, bond, or other evidence 
of indebtedness now mortgaged or pledged as security for 
or as part security for any loan heretofore made to any 
such corporation, or prohibit the sale, upon foreclosure or 
otherwise, of any such mortgaged or pledged stock, cer¬ 
tificate of stock, bonds, or other evidences of indebted¬ 
ness upon the terms and conditions provided in the 
instrument, if any, whereunder such securities may have 
been pledged or in the contract of loan; and nothing in 
this section contained shall be construed in any way to 
prohibit or affect the issue of any capital stock or the 


RAILROAD BILL. 


53 


delivery of any certificate of stock, or the issue of any 
bond or other evidence of indebtedness in exchange for 
or to provide for the retirement of any capital stock, cer¬ 
tificate of stock, bond, or other evidence of indebtedness 
now outstanding or provided to be issued, or the pledge 
of the exchanged or retired stock or securities on such 
terms and conditions as may be provided in the instru¬ 
ments whereunder any of the stocks, bonds, or other 
evidences of indebtedness referred to in this paragraph 
are respectively issued or authorized to he issued/’ 

Sec. 14. That a new section be added to said Act to 
regulate commerce, to be numbered as section twenty-six, 
as follows : 

“ Sec. 26. That in case at any time it shall be proposed 
by or pursuant to any plan of reorganization of any railroad 
corporation or corporations incorporated prior to January 
first, nineteen hundred and ten, the properties whereof 
shall be in the hands of a receiver or of receivers, or shall 
be subject to be sold in any suit or suits or other judicial 
proceedings for foreclosure of any mortgage or deed of trust 
heretofore executed, or for the dissolution or winding up of 
such corporation, or to procure the satisfaction of its debts 
or the application of its property thereto, pending at the 
time of such proposal, that any corporation utilized or to 
be utilized for the purposes of such reorganization, which • 
at such time shall be, or, when organized and operating, 
will be, subject to the provisions of this Act as amended 
(every corporation so utilized or to be utilized being here¬ 
inafter referred to by the term “ New corporation”), shall 
issue stock and bonds and other evidences of indebtedness, 
or any thereof, for any purpose connected with or relating 
to any part of its business governed by this Act. as amended, 
application for any certificate of the Interstate Commerce 
Commission that may be requisite under the provisions of 


54 


RAILROAD BILL. 


this section may be made by any person, committee, or 
representatives of any committee, or by managers having 
in charge the formulating or carrying out of any such plan 
of reorganization, and such certificate may be issued to 
such person, committee, representatives, or managers for 
the use of the new corporation; and the issue pursuant to 
such plan of reorganization by any new corporation of 
stock, whether of a single class or of two or more'classes, 
as may be authorized by law, to an amount in the aggre¬ 
gate not exceeding the fair estimated value of the property 
of the corporation or corporations so reorganized or to be 
reorganized, which shall be ascertained by the Interstate 
Commerce Commission, and which aggregate amount shall 
be stated in a certificate issued by said commission to such 
person, committee, representatives, or managers for the 
use of the new corporation, and in no case shall exceed the 
aggregate amount of the par value of the stocks of the cor¬ 
poration or corporations reorganized or to be reorganized; 
and the issue by any new corporation of bonds and other 
evidences of indebtedness, whether unsecured or secured 
by mortgage upon said properties or otherwise, to an aggre¬ 
gate amount not exceeding the amount of new money paid 
to the new corporation pursuant to such plan of reorganiza¬ 
tion, and the amounts of bonds and other obligations and 
debts, including receiver's liabilities, which at the time 
of such sale or sales may have constituted claims or charges, 
wdiether legal or equitable, upon or against the corporation 
or corporations so reorganized, or the properties thereof, 
and provision for the payment of which or the delivery of 
securities of the new corporation in exchange for which 
shall be made in such plan shall not be deemed to be pro¬ 
hibited by anything contained in this Act: Provided , 
That the aggregate amount of interest charges agreed to 
be paid by the new corporation or to which its property 


RAILROAD BILL. 


55 


will be subject shall not exceed the aggregate amount of 
the interest charges to which the corporation or corporations 
so reorganized or their properties shall have been subject; 
and nothing in this Act shall be deemed to prohibit the 
new corporation from assuming any bonds, debts, or other 
obligations of the corporation or corporations so reorganized 
in place of which it might, in accordance with the rules 
prescribed by this section, issue its own stocks, bonds, or 
other obligations. 

“In case two or more railroad corporations subject to 
the provisions of this Act, as amended, shall be consoli¬ 
dated or merged pursuant to the laws of a State or States 
applicable thereto and such consolidation or merger shall 
consist in uniting the organizations, properties, businesses, 
and stocks of said corporations; and if the Interstate Com¬ 
merce Commission shall have ascertained and stated in a 
certificate issued by it to the corporations in respect to 
which such consolidation or merger is to take place or shall 
have taken place, or to one of them (or to any person, 
committee, or representatives of any committee, or to 
managers having in charge the formulating or carrying 
out of any plan of reorganization such as is hereinbefore 
mentioned under which the corporation that is to issue 
new securities to be distributed under such plan will be a 
corporation resulting from any consolidation or consolida¬ 
tions, merger or mergers), that the stock to be issued by 
such consolidated corporation and the bonds and other 
obligations, if any, to be assumed and issued thereby does 
not exceed the fair estimated value of the properties of 
such consolidated corporation, nothing in this Act con¬ 
tained shall be deemed to prohibit the issue of such stock 
and bonds and other obligations, or any of them, or the 
assumption of all or any of the bonds or other obligations 
of the corporations so consolidated or merged. 


56 


RAILROAD BILL. 


“ Nothing in this Act contained shall prevent a railroad 
corporation subject to the provisions of this Act, as 
amended, from acquiring the stock and bonds of another 
railroad corporation, subject to said Act, which is not di¬ 
rectly and substantially competitive with that of such first- 
mentioned corporation, by the issue of its own stock and 
bonds, provided the aggregate amount of the par values of 
the stock and bonds so issued shall not exceed the fair value 
of the property of the corporation whose stock and bonds 
are so acquired, which value shall be ascertained by the 
Interstate Commerce Commission. 

4 ‘But nothing herein contained shall be construed to 
authorize or to validate or permit the consolidation or 
merger in any manner of two or more corporations in 
violation of any Act of Congress, including the Act 
approved July second, eighteen hundred and ninety, 
entitled, 'An Act to protect trade and commerce against 
unlawful restraints and monopolies/ ” 

Sec. 15. That a new section be added to said Act to 
regulate commerce, to be numbered as section twenty- 
seven, as follows: 

“ Sec. 27. That upon application for a certificate of the 
Interstate Commerce Commission, pursuant to the provi¬ 
sions of this Act, of which notice shall be served on the 
United States in like manner as is provided with respect 
to notices of hearings upon petition in accordance with 
the provisions of this Act, the commission shall hear and 
determine the matters as to which its certificate is desired, 
and may make proper rules and regulations concerning the 
manner of such application and the conduct of the hearing. 

"Any director, officer, or stockholder of such corpora¬ 
tion who knowingly and willfully assents to or concurs in 
any issue of securities forbidden by the provisions of this 
Act shall be punished by a fine of not more than ten thou- 


RAILROAD BILL. 


57 


sand dollars, or imprisonment not longer than three years, 
or both. 

“ Nothing in this Act contained shall in any way affect 
or impair the validity of any such stock, certificates of 
stock, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness in the 
hands of innocent holders for value. ” 

Sec. 16. That nothing in this Act contained shall 
undo or impair any proceedings heretofore taken by or 
before the Interstate Commerce Commission or any of 
the acts of said commission; and in any cases, proceed¬ 
ings, or matters now pending before it, the commission 
may exercise any of the powers hereby conferred upon it, 
as would be proper in cases, proceedings, or matters here¬ 
after initiated; and nothing in this Act contained shall 
operate to release or affect any obligation, liability, pen¬ 
alty, or forfeiture heretofore existing against or incurred 
by any person, corporation, or association. 

Sec. 17. That this Act shall take effect and- he in 
force from and after the expiration of sixty days after its 
passage. 

Amend the title so as to read: “A bill to create a 
commerce court, and to amend the Act entitled, An Act 
to regulate commerce, ’ approved February fourth, eighteen 
hundred and eighty-seven, as heretofore amended, and 
for other purposes.” 


58 


RAILROAD BILL. 


PRINT OF H. R. 17536. TO SHOW CHANGES IN THE TEXT OF THE 
ORIGINAL BILL BY THE SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT RECOM¬ 
MENDED BY THE COMMITTEE. 

[Original text in Roman.—Parts stricken out show language omitted.—Parts in 
italics show language inserted.] 

A BILL 


To create an interstate-commerce court and to amend the 
Act entitled “An Act to regulate commerce,” ap¬ 
proved February fourth, eighteen hundred and eighty- 
seven, as heretofore amended, and for other purposes. 


Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Represent¬ 
atives of the United States of America in Congress as¬ 
sembled, That a court of the United States is hereby cre¬ 
ated which shall be known as the 
commerce court 
comm er c e) and shall have the jurisdiction now possessed 
by circuit courts of the United States and the judges 
thereof over all cases of the following kinds: 

First. All cases for the enforcement, otherwise than by 
adjudication and collection of a forfeiture or penalty or 
by infliction of criminal punishment, of any order of the 
Interstate Commerce Commission other than for the pay¬ 
ment of money. 

Second. Cases brought to enjoin, set aside, annul, or 
suspend in whole or in part any order ef-fe quircm o nt of the 
Interstate Commerce Commission. 

Third. Such cases as by section three of the Act to fur¬ 
ther regulate commerce with foreign nations and among 
the States, approved February nineteenth, nineteen 
hundred and three, are authorized to be maintained in a 
circuit court of the United States. 

Fourth. All such mandamus proceedings as under the 
provisions of section twenty or section twenty-three of 


RAILROAD BILL. 


59 


the Act to regulate commerce, approved February fourth, 
eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, as amended, are au¬ 
thorized to be maintained in a circuit court of the United 
States. Put Nothing hereinbefore contained in this Act 
shall be construed as enlarging the jurisdiction now 
possessed by the circuit courts of the United States or the 
judges thereof , which is hereby transferred to and vested 
in the commerce court . 

The jurisdiction of the eeurt-ef commerce court over 
cases of the foregoing classes shall be exclusive; but this 
Act shall not effect the jurisdiction now possessed by any 
circuit or district court of the United States over cases or 
proceedings of a kind not within the above-enumerated 
classes. 

The eo ffl4 -of commerce court shall be a court of record, 
and shall have a seal of such form and style as the court 
may prescribe. The said court shall be composed of five 
judges, to be from time to time designated and assigned 
thereto by the Chief Justice of the United States from 
among the circuit judges of the United States, for the pe¬ 
riod of five years, except that in the first instance designa- 



posed of the five additional circuit judges to be appointed as 
hereinafter provided , who shall be designated by the Presi¬ 
dent to serve for one , two , three , four , and five years , re¬ 
spectively , in order that the period of designation of one of 
the said judges shall expire in each year thereafter . In 
case of the death , resignation , or termination of assignment 
of any judge so designated , the Chief Justice shall desig¬ 
nate a circuit judge to fill the vacancy so caused and to 
serve during the unexpired period for which the original 


60 


RAILROAD BILL. 


designation was made. After the year nineteen hundred 
and fourteen no circuit judge shall be redesignated to serve 
on the commerce court until the expiration of at least one 
year after the expiration of the period of his last previous 
designation. The judge first designated for the five-year 
period shall be the presiding judge of said court, and there¬ 
after the judge senior in commission shall be the presid¬ 
ing judge. 

Each of the judges during the period of his service in 
the commerce court shall, on account of the regular sessions 
of the court being held in the city of Washington, receive 
in addition to his salary as circuit judge an expense allow¬ 
ance at the rate of thre e two thousand dollars per annum. 
The President shall, by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate, appoint five additional circuit judges, no 
two of whom shall be from the same judicial circuit, who 
shall hold office during good behavior and who shall be 
from time to time designated and assigned by the Chief 
Justice of the United States for service in the circuit court 
for any district, or the circuit court of appeals for any cir¬ 
cuit, or in the eemT-ef commerce court. T h e a dd itional 



ansnil li: i nd a»ah _ 

TjxrtjttTT TtXtTt; 


The associate judges shall have precedence and shall 
succeed to the place and powers of the presiding judge 
whenever he may be absent or incapable of acting in the 
order of the date of their commissions. Four of said 
judges shall constitute a quorum, and at least a majority 
of the court shall concur in all decisions. 

The court shall also have a clerk and a marshal, with the 
same duties and powers, so far as they may be appropriate 
and are not altered by rule of the court, as are now pos¬ 
sessed by the clerk and marshal, respectively, of the Su- 



Railroad bill. 


61 


preme Court of the United States. The offices of the clerk 
and marshal of the court shall be in the city of Washing¬ 
ton, in the District of Columbia. The judges of the 
court shall appoint the clerk and marshal, and may also 
appoint, if they find it necessary, a deputy clerk and 
deputy marshal; and such clerk, marshal, deputy clerk, 
and deputy marshal shall hold office during the pleasure 
of the court. The salary of the clerk shall be four thou¬ 
sand dollars per annum; the salary of the marshal three 
thousand dollars per annum; the salary of the deputy 
clerk two thousand five hundred dollars per annum; and 
the salary of the deputy marshal two thousand five hun¬ 
dred dollars per annum. The said clerk and marshal may, 
with the approval of the court, employ all requisite 
assistance. The costs and fees in said court shall be estab¬ 
lished by the court in a table thereof, approved by the 
Supreme Court of the United States, within four months 
after the organization of the court; but such costs and 
fees shall in no case exceed those charged in the Supreme 
Court of the United States, and shall be accounted for 
and paid to into the Treasury Department of the United 
States. 

The eeurt-ef commerce court shall be always open for 
the transaction of business. Its regular sessions shall be 
held in the city of Washington, in the District of Colum¬ 
bia; but the powers of the court or of any judge thereof, 
or of the clerk, marshal, deputy clerk, or deputy marshal 
may be exercised anywhere in the United States; and for 
expedition of the work of the court and the avoidance of 
undue expense or inconvenience to suitors the court shall 
hold sessions in different parts of the United States as may 
be found desirable. The actual and necessary expenses of 
the judges, clerk, marshal, deputy clerk, and deputy mar¬ 
shal of the court incurred for travel and attendance else- 


62 


RAILROAD BILL. 


where than in the city of Washington shall be paid upon 
the written and itemized certificate of such judge, clerk, 
marshal, deputy clerk, or deputy marshal by the marshal 
of the court, and shall be allowed to him in the statement 
of his accounts with the United States. 

The United States marshals of the several districts out¬ 
side of the city of Washington in which the co urt - of com¬ 
merce court may hold its sessions shall provide, under the 
direction and with the approval of the Attorney-General of 
the United States, such rooms in the public buildings of 
the United States as may be necessary for the court’s use; 
but in case-proper rooms can not be provided in such public 
buildings, said marshals, with the approval of the Attor¬ 
ney-General of the United States, may then lease from 
time to time other necessary rooms for the court. 

If, at any time, the business of the court of commerce 
court does not require the continuous services of all the 
judges, the Chief Justice of the United States may, by 
writing, signed by him and, filed in the Department of 
State, terminate the assignment of any of the judges or 
temporarily assign him for service in any circuit court or 
circuit court of appeals. In case of illness or other disa¬ 
bility of any judge assigned to the c o ur t -of commerce court, 
the Chief Justice of the United States may assign any 
other circuit judge of the United States to act in his place, 
and may terminate such assignment when the exigence 
therefor shall cease; and any circuit judge so assigned to 
act in place of such judge shall, during his assignment, 
exercise all the powers and perform all the functions of 
such judge. 

In all cases within its jurisdiction the eour-t-o f com¬ 
merce court, and each of the judges assigned thereto, shall, 
respectively, have and may exercise any and all of the 
powers of a circuit court of the United States and of the 


RAILROAD BILL. 


63 


judges of said court, respectively, so far as the same may 
be appropriate to the effective exercise of the jurisdiction 
hereby conferred. The eour t -of commerce court may issue 
all writs and process appropriate to the full exercise of its 
jurisdicti onat jurisdiction and powers and may prescribe 
the form thereof. It may also, from time to time, estab¬ 
lish such rules or and regulations concerning pleading, 
practice, or procedure in cases or matters within its juris¬ 
diction as to the court shall seem wise and proper. Its 
orders, writs, and process may run, be served, and be 
returnable anywhere in the United States; and the mar¬ 
shal and deputy marshal of said court and also the United 
States marshals and deputy marshals in the several dis¬ 
tricts of the United States shall have like powers and be 
under like duties to act for and in behalf of said court as 
pertain to United States marshals and deputy marshals 
generally when acting under like conditions concerning 
suits or matters in the circuits of the United States. 

The jurisdiction of the eeurf-ef commerce court shall be 
invoked by filing in the office of the clerk of the court a 
written petition setting forth briefly and succinctly the 
facts constituting the petitioner’s cause of action, and 
specifying the relief sought. A copy of such petition 
shall he forthwith served by the marshal or a deputy 
marshal of the eeurUef commerce court or by the proper 
United States marshal or deputy marshal upon every 
defendant therein named, and when the United States 
is a party defendant, the service shall be made by filing 
a copy of said petition in the office of the secretary of the 
Interstate Commerce Commission and in the Department 
of Justice. In case a defendant to such petition can not 
be found within the district of his last-known residence 
or place of business , and the marshal shall so return , 
service of the petition may be made in the manner provided 


64 


RAILROAD BILL. 


in section eight of the Act entitled “ An Act to determine 
the jurisdiction of circuit courts of the United States , 
and to regulate the removal of causes from state courts 9 
and for other purposesf 9 approved March third , eighteen 
hundred and seventy-five . Within thirty days after the 
petition is served, unless that time is extended by order 
of the court or a judge thereof, an answer to the petition 
shall be filed in the clerk's office, and a copy thereof 
mailed to the petitioner’s attorney , which answer shall 
briefly and categorically respond to the allegations of the 
petition. No replication need be filed to the answer, 
and objections to the sufficiency of the petition or answer 
as not setting forth a cause of action or defense must be 
taken at the final hearing and not by demurrer. In case 
no answer shall be filed as provided herein the petitioner 
may apply to the court on notice for such relief as may be 
proper upon the facts alleged in the petition. The court 
may , by rule , prescribe the method of taking evidence in 
cases pending in said court; and may prescribe that the 
evidence be taken before a single judge of the court , with 
power to rule upon the admission of evidence . Except 
as may be otherwise provided in this Act, or by rule of 
the court, the practice and procedure in the eourt-of 
commerce court shall conform as nearly as may be to that 
in like cases in a circuit court of the United States. 


b y - the - Chief Ju s tiee -o f - the United-State s - within - ninet y 



Sec. 2. That a final judgment or decree of the eourt-ef 
commerce court may be reviewed by the Supreme Court 
of the United States if appeal to the Supreme Court 




RAILROAD BILL. 


65 


is be taken by an aggrieved party within sixty days after 
the entry of said final judgment or decree. Such appeal 
may be taken in like manner as appeals from a circuit 
court of the United States to the Supreme Court, and the 
commerce court may direct the original record to be trans¬ 
mitted on appeal instead of a transcript thereof . The 
Supreme Court may affirm, reverse, or modify the final 
judgment or decree of the co urt of commerce court as the 
case may require. 

Appeal to the Supreme Court, however, shall in no case 
supersede or stay the judgment or decree of the eo urt - of 
commerce court appealed from, unless the Supreme Court 
or a justice thereof shall so direct, and appellant shall give 
bond in such form and of such amount as the Supreme 
Court, or the justice of that court allowing the stay, may 
require. 

Appeals to the Supreme Court under this section shall 
have priority in hearing and determination over all other' 
causes except criminal causes in that court. 

Sec. 3. That suits to enjoin, set aside, annul, or sus¬ 
pend any order of the Interstate Commerce Commission 
shall be brought in the eem4-ef commerce court against 
the United States. The pendency of such suit shall not 
of itself stay or suspend the operation of the order of the 
Interstate Commerce Commission; but the e o u rl-of com¬ 
merce court , in its discretion, may restrain or suspend, in 
whole or in part , the operation of the commission’s order 
pending the final hearing and determination of the suit. 
No order or injunction so restraining or suspending an 
order of the Interstate Commerce Commission shall be 
made by the eom4-of commerce court otherwise than upon 
notice and after hearing, except that incases where irrep¬ 
arable damage would otherwise ensue to the petitioner, 
said court , or a judge thereof of-said- court may allow a 

H. Rep. 923, 61-2-5 


66 


RAILROAD BILL. 


temporary stay or suspension in whole or in part of the 
operation of the order of the Interstate Commerce Com¬ 
mission for not more than sixty days from the date of his 
order, pending application to the court for its order or 
injunction, in which case the said order shall contain a 
specific finding, based upon evidence submitted to the 
judge making the order and identified by reference thereto, 
that such irreparable damage would result to the peti¬ 
tioner and specifying the nature of the damage. The 
court may, at the time of hearing such application, upon 
a like finding, continue the temporary stay or suspension 
in whole or in part until its decision upon the application. 

Sec. 4. That from and after the passage of this Act all 

cases and proceedings in the c ourt. of commerce court 

which, but for this Act, would be brought by or against 
the Interstate Commerce Commission shall be brought 
by or against the United States, and the United States 
may intervene in any case or proceeding in the eo u rt-of 


commerce court whenever, though it has not been made 
a party, public interests are involved. 



shall - ree ei ve a salary of four th ousa nd dollars per annum; 



and control of the interests of the Government in all 
cases and proceedings in the eeurf-ef commerce court and 
in the Supreme Court of the United States upon appeal 
from the eem4-ef commerce court; The-In terst - ate Com - 



RAILROAD BILL. 


67 


m er ee - Gommiasion and its attorneys shall takon o- p aftfin 

the - c o nduct of any such litigatio n?—TTre— At tor ney - 



and if in his opinion the public inter¬ 


est requires it, may retain and employ in the name of the 
United States such special attorneys and counselors at 
law as he may think necessary to assist 




in the discharge of any of the duties 


incumbent upon him and his said subordinate attorneys; 
and the Attorney-General shall stipulate with such special 
attorneys and counsel the amount of their compensation 
and shall have supervision of their action: Provided , 
That parties in interest to the proceeding before the com¬ 
mission , in which an order or requirement is made , may 
appear and be represented by their counsel , upon such 
terms as the court may prescribe , in any suit wherein is in¬ 
volved the validity of such order or requirement or any 
part thereof , and the interest of such party; but such ap¬ 
pearance and representation shall not interfere with the 
control of the case by the Attorney- General , and the court 
wherein is pending such suit may make all such rules and 
orders as to such appearances and representations , the 
number of counsel , and all matter of procedure , and 
otherwise , as to subserve the ends of justice and speed the 
determination of such suits. 

Sec. 6. That before until the-date-fixed-for the opening 
of the eeurt-ef commerce court as in section one hereof pro¬ 
vided, all cases and proceedings of which from that time 
the cour t-of commerce court is hereby given exclusive 
jurisdiction may be brought in the same courts and con¬ 
ducted in like manner and with like effect as is now pro¬ 
vided by law; and if any such case or proceeding shall 
have gone to final judgment or decree before the date 
so-fixed opening of said court , appeal may be taken from 
such final judgment or decree in like manner and with 





68 


RAILROAD BILL. 


like effect as is now provided by law. Any such case or 
proceeding within the jurisdiction of the eourt-of com¬ 
merce court which may have been begun in any other 
court as hereby allowed before the said date shall be forth¬ 
with transferred to the eo u rt-of commerce court , if it has 
not yet proceeded to final judgment or decree in such 
other court unless it has been finally submitted for the 
decision of such court , in which case the cause shall pro¬ 
ceed in the circuit court to final judgment or decree and 
further proceeding thereafter , and appeal may be taken 
direct to the Supreme Court , and if remanded such cause 
may be sent back to the circuit court or to the - Gmtrt - of com¬ 
merce court for further proceeding as the Supreme Court 
shall direct; and all previous proceedings in such trans¬ 
ferred case shall stand and operate notwithstanding the 
transfer, subject to the same Control over them by the 
e o ur t-of commerce court and to the same right of subsequent 
action in the case or proceeding as if the transferred case or 
proceeding had been originally begun in the eourt-of com¬ 
merce court. The clerk of the court from which any case or 
proceeding is so transferred to the eourt -of commerce court 
shall transmit to and file in the eourt-of commerce court the 
originals of all papers filed in such case or proceeding and a 
certified transcript of all record entries in the case or pro¬ 
ceeding up to the time of transfer. 

Sec. 6a. That section one of the Act entitled “ An Act 
to regulate commerce , ’ ’ approved February fourth , eight¬ 
een hundred and eighty-seven , as heretofore amended , is 
hereby now amended so as to read as follows: 

“ Section 1 . That the provisions of this Act shall ap¬ 
ply to any corporation or any person or persons engaged in 
the transportation of oil or other commodity , except water 
and except natural or artificial gas , by means of pipe lines , 
or partly by pipe lines and partly by railroad , or partly by 


RAILROAD BILL. 


69 


pipe lines and partly by water , who shall be considered and 
held to be common carriers within the meaning and pur¬ 
pose of this Act , and to any common carrier or carriers 
engaged in the transportation of passengers or property 
wholly by railroad (or partly by railroad and partly by 
water when both are used under a common control , man¬ 
agement , or arrangement ‘for a continuous carriage or 
shipment), from one State , Territory , or District of the 
United States , to any other State , Territory , or District 
of the United States , or from one place in a Territory or 
District to another place in the same Territory or District , 
or from any place in the United States to an adjacent 
foreign country , or from any place in the United States 
through a foreign country to any other place in the United 
States , and also to the transportation in like manner of 
property shipped from any place in the United States to a 
foreign country and carried from such place to a port of 
transshipment , or shipped from a foreign country to any 
place in the United States and carried to such place from 
a port of entry either in the United States or an adjacent 
foreign country . 

“ The term 6 common carrier 9 as used in this Act shall 
include express companies and sleeping-car companies . 
The term 6 railroad 9 as used in this Act shall include all 
bridges and ferries used or operated in connection with 
any railroad, and also all the road in use by any corpo¬ 
ration operating a railroad , whether owned or operated 
under a contract , agreement , or lease , and shall also 
include all switches , spurs, tracks, and terminal facilities 
of every kind used or necessary in the transportation of 
the persons or property designated herein , and also all 
freight depots , yards , and grounds used or necessary in 
the transportation or delivery of any of said property; 
and the term ‘ transportation 9 shall include cars and other 


70 


RAILROAD BILL. 


vehicles and all instrumentalities and facilities of ship¬ 
ment or carriage, irrespective of ownership or of any 
contract, express or implied, for the use thereof and all 
services in connection with the receipt, delivery, elevation, 
and transfer in transit, ventilation, refrigeration or 
icing, storage, anrf handling of property transported; and 
it shall be the duty of every carrier subject to the provi¬ 
sions of this Act to provide and furnish such transporta¬ 
tion upon reasonable request therefor, and to establish 
through routes and just and reasonable rates applicable 
thereto; and to provide reasonable facilities for operating 
such through routes, and to exchange, interchange, and 
return cars used therein, and to make reasonable rules 
and regulations with respect thereto and for operation of 
such through routes, and providing for reasonable com¬ 
pensation to those entitled thereto, for the use of, injury 
to, destruction or loss of any of such cars on the line of 
any carrier operating a part of such through or joint 
routes . 

“All charges made for any service rendered or to be ren¬ 
dered in the transportation of passengers or property as 
aforesaid, or in connection therewith, shall be just and 
. reasonable; and every unjust and unreasonable charge for 
such service or any part thereof is prohibited and declared 
to be unlawful. 

6 6 And it is hereby made the duty of all common carriers 
subject to the provisions of this Act to establish, observe, 
and enforce just and reasonable classifications of property 
for transportation, with reference to which rates, tariffs, 
regulations, or practices are or may be made or prescribed, 
and just and reasonable regulations and practices affecting 
classifications, rates, or tariffs, the issuance, form, and sub¬ 
stance of tickets, receipts, and bills'of lading, the manner 
and method of presenting, marking, packing, and deliver- 


RAILROAD BILL. 


71 


ing property for transportation, the facilities for transpor¬ 
tation, the carrying of personal, sample, and excess baggage, 
and all other matters relating to or connected with the 
receiving, handling, transporting, storing, and delivery of 
property subject to the provisions of this Act which may be 
necessary or convenient to secure the safe and prompt 
receipt, handling, transportation, and delivery of property 
subject to the provisions of this Act upon just and reason¬ 
able terms, and every unjust and unreasonable classifica¬ 
tion, regulation, and practice is prohibited and declared to 
be unlawful . 

“No common carrier subject to the provisions of this 
Act shall, after January first, nineteen hundred and 
seven, directly or indirectly, issue or give any interstate 
free ticket, free pass, or free transportation for passengers, 
except to its employees and their families, its officers, agents, 
surgeons, physicians, and attorneys at law; to mmisters 
of religion, traveling secretaries of railroad Young Men's 
• Christian Associations, inmates of hospitals and chari¬ 
table and eleemosynary institutions, and persons exclu¬ 
sively engaged in charitable and eleemosynary work; to 
indigent, destitute, and homeless persons, and to such per¬ 
sons when transported by charitable societies or hospitals, 
and the necessary agents employed in such transportation; 
to inmates of the National Homes or State Homes for 
Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, and of Soldiers' and Sail¬ 
ors' Homes, including those about to enter and those re¬ 
turning home after discharge, and boards of managers of 
such'homes; to necessary care takers of live stock, poultry, 
milk, and fruit; to employees on sleeping cars, express 
cars, and to linemen of telegraph and telephone compa¬ 
nies; to Railway Mail Service employees, post-office in¬ 
spectors, customs inspectors, and immigration inspectors; 
to newsboys on trains, baggage agents, witnesses attend- 


72 


RAILROAD BILL. 


ing any legal investigation in which the common carrier 
is interested , persons injured in wrecks and physicians and 
nurses attending such persons: Provided , That this pro¬ 
vision shall not be construed to prohibit the interchange of 
passes for the officers , agents, and employees of common 
carriers , and their families; nor to prohibit any common 
carrier from carrying passengers free with the object of 
providing relief in cases of general epidemic , pestilence , 
or other calamitous visitation: Provided further, That the 
term ‘employees' as used in this paragraph shall include 
furloughed , pensioned , and superannuated employees, 
persons who have become disabled or infirm in the service 
of any such common carrier , and the remains of a per¬ 
son killed in the employment of a carrier and ex-employees 
traveling for the purpose of entering the service of any 
such common carrier; and the term ‘families’ as used in 
this paragraph shall include the families of those persons 
named in this proviso , also the families of persons killed 
while in the service of any such common carrier. Any 
common carrier violating this provision shall be deemed 
guilty of a misdemeanor, and for each offense, on convic¬ 
tion , shall pay to the United States a penalty of not less 
than one hundred dollars nor more than two thousand 
dollars , and any person , other than the persons excepted 
in this provision, who uses any such interstate free ticket , 
free pass , or free transportation shall be subject to a like 
penalty . Jurisdiction of offenses under this provision 
shall be the same as that provided for offenses in an Act 
entitled ‘An Act to further regulate commerce with for¬ 
eign nations and among the States / approved February 
nineteenth , nineteen hundred and three , and any amend¬ 
ment thereof. 

“From and after May first , nineteen hundred and 
eight , it shall be unlawful for any railroad company to 


RAILROAD BILL. 


73 


transport from any State, Territory, or the District of 
Columbia, to any other State, Territory, or the District 
of Columbia, or to any foreign country, any article or 
commodity, other than timber and the manufactured prod¬ 
ucts thereof, manufactured, mined, or produced by it, or 
under its authority, or which it may own in whole, or in 
part, or in which it may have any interest, direct or indirect, 
except such articles or commodities as may be necessary 
and intended for its use in the conduct of its business as a 
common carrier. 

“ Any common carrier subject to the provisions of this 
Act, upon application of any lateral, branch line of rail¬ 
road, or of any shipper tendering interstate traffic for trans¬ 
portation, shall construct, maintain, and operate upon 
reasonable terms a switch connection with any such lateral, 
branch line of railroad, or private side track which may be 
constructed to connect with its railroad, where such con¬ 
nection is reasonably practicable and can be put in with 
safety and will furnish sufficient business to justify the con¬ 
struction and maintenance of the same; and shall furnish 
cars for the movement of such traffic to the best of its ability 
without discrimination in favor of or against any such 
shipper. If any common carrier shall fail to install and 
operate any such switch or connection as aforesaid, on 
application therefor in writing by any shipper or owner of 
such lateral, branch line of railroad, such shipper or 
owner of such lateral, branch line of railroad may make 
complaint to the commission, as provided in section thirteen 
of this Act, and the commission shall hear and investigate 
the same and shall determine as to the safety and practi¬ 
cability thereof and justification and reasonable compen¬ 
sation therefor, and the commission may make an order, 
as provided in section fifteen of this Act, directing the com¬ 
mon carrier to comply with the provisions of this section in 


74 


RAILROAD BILL. 


accordance with such order, and such order shall he 
enforced as hereinafter provided for the enforcement of all 
other orders by the commission, other than orders for the 
payment of money.” 

Sec. 6b. That section four of said Act to regulate com¬ 
merce be amended so as to read as follows: 

“Sec. 4. That it shall be unlawful for any common 
carrier subject to the provisions of this Act to charge or 
receive any greater compensation in the aggregate for the 
transportation of passengers, or of like kind of property, 
for a shorter than for a longer distance over the same line 
or route in the same direction, the shorter being included 
within the longer distance, or to charge any greater com¬ 
pensation as a through route than the aggregate of the 
local rates; but this shall not be construed as authorizing 
any common carrier within the terms of this Act to charge 
or receive as great compensation for a shorter as for a 
longer distance: Provided, however, That upon applica¬ 
tion to the Interstate Commerce Commission such common 
carrier may in special cases, after investigation, be au¬ 
thorized by the commission to charge less for longer than 
for shorter distances for the transportation of passengers 
or property; and the commission may from time to time 
prescribe the extent to which such designated common 
carrier may be relieved from the operation of this section: 
Provided further, That no rates or charges lawfully 
existing at the time of the passage of this amendatory Act 
shall be required to be changed by reason of the provisions 
of this section prior to the expiration of six months after 
the passage of this Act, nor in any case where application 
shall have been filed before the commission, in accordance 
ivith the provisions of this section, until a determination 
of such application by the commission 


RAILROAD BILL. 


75 


Sec. 7. That section five of the said Act to regulate 
commerce, appro ved Tcbriiary - feurth ^ eighteen hundred 
an d-ei gh ty — s even T as heretofore amended, is hereby 
now amended h y - adding - at the e nd -t here of-ar- n e w -para- 
graph T so as to read as follows : 


“Agreements between common carriers subject to this 
Act specifying the classifications of freight and the rates, 
fares, and charges for transportation of passengers and 
freight which they agree to establish shall not be unlawful 
under this Act as amended or under the Act approved July 
second , eighteen hundred and ninety , entitled 4 An Act to 
protect trade and commerce against unlawful restraints 
and monopolies ,’ or otherwise if a copy of such agreement 
in such form and in such detail as the commission may pre¬ 
scribe is filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission 
within twenty days after it is made, and before or when 
any schedule of any rate, fare, or charge, or any classifi¬ 
cation made pursuant to the agreement is filed with the 
commission; but all provisions of the this Act to - regula te 


a n d-ei gh ty-seveny as amended, 

Aet and any future amendments thereof shall apply to 
such agreed rates, fares, and charges, and such agreed 
classifications, and the Interstate Commerce Commission 
shall have like control over and power of action concerning 
any agreed rate, fare, charge, or classification, including 
suspension of the rate or classification before it becomes 
effective, and pending investigation of its propriety, as if 
the rate, fare, charge, or classification had been made 
without agreement, and any party to such agreement may 
cancel it as to all or any of the agreed rates, fares, charges, 
or classifications by thirty days’ notice in writing to the 
other parties and to the Interstate Commerce Commission, 
and such agreement of carriers, though filed with the com- 





76 


RAILROAD BILL. 


mission, shall not be deemed a tariff or schedule of rates, 
fares, or charges collectible from the public, or operate 
itself to alter any such tariff or schedule whensoever filed 
and published. But it shall be unlawful for any com¬ 
mon carrier subject to the provisions of this Act to enter 
into any contract , agreement , or combination with any 
other common carrier or carriers for the pooling of traffic 
of different and competing railroads , or to divide between 
them the aggregate or net proceeds of the earnings of such 
railroads , or any portion thereof; and in any case of an 
agreement for the pooling of traffic as aforesaid , each day 
of its continuance shall be deemed a separate offense. 

Sec. 8. That section six of said Act to regulate 
commerce, approved February fourth - eighteen hundred 
and eighty -se ven- as heretofore amended, is hereby now 
amended by adding a three new paragraph paragraphs at 
the end thereof, as follows: 

“In case of failure or refusal on the part of any carrier , 
receiver , or trustee to comply with the terms of any regu¬ 
lation adopted and promulgated or any order made by the 
commission under the provisions of this section , such car¬ 
rier , receiver , or trustee shall be liable to a penalty of five 
hundred dollars for each such offense , and twenty-five 
dollars for each and every day of the continuance of such 
offense , which shall accrue to the United States and may be 
recovered in a civil action brought by the United States.” 

“If any rai l r oad corporation, being a common carrier 
subject to this Act, after written request made upon the 
freight agent of such carrier hereinafter in this section 
referred to by any person or company for a written state¬ 
ment of the rate or charge applicable to a described ship¬ 
ment between stated places under the schedules or tariffs 
to which such carrier is a party, shall refuse or omit to 
give such written statement within a reasonable time, or 





RAILROAD BILL. 


77 


shall misstate in writing its the applicable rate, and if the 
person or company making such request suffers damage in 
consequence of such refusal or omission or in consequence 
of the misstatement of the rate, either through making 
the shipment over a line or route for which the proper 
rate is higher than the rate over another available line 
or route, or through entering into any sale or other con¬ 
tract whereunder such person or company obligates him¬ 
self or itself to make such shipment of freight at his or its 
cost, then the said carrier shall be liable to a penalty of 
two hundred and fifty dollars, which shall accrue to the 
United States and may be recovered in a civil action 
brought by the United States.” 

“ It shall be the duty of every such ralbead-eefpeffttien 
common carrier to keep at all times conspicuously posted 
in every station where freight is received for transporta¬ 
tion the name of an agent resident in the city, village, 
or town where such station is located, to whom applica¬ 
tion may be made for the information by this section 
required to be furnished on written request; and in case 
any carrier shall fail at any time to have such name so 
posted in any station, it shall be sufficient to address such 
request to in substantially the following form: ‘The 

Station Agent of the-Company at -Station, ’ 

together with the name of the proper post-office, inserting 
the name of the carrier company and of the station in 
the blanks, and to serve the same by depositing the 
request so addressed, with postage thereon prepaid, in 
any post-office.” 

Sec. 8a. That section ten of said Act to regulate com¬ 
merce, as heretofore amended, be now amended so as to 
read as follows: 

“Sec. 10. That any common carrier subject to the 
provisions of this Act, or, whenever such common carrier 




78 


RAILROAD BILL. 


is a corporation 9 any director or officer thereof, or any 
receiver, trustee, lessee, agent, or person acting for or 
employed by such corporation, wAo, alone or with any 
other corporation, company, person, or party, shall will¬ 
fully do or cause to be done, or shall willingly suffer or 
permit to be done, any act, matter, or thing in this Act 
prohibited or declared to be unlawful, or wAo sAa/Z aid or 
abet therein, or shall willfully omit or fail to do any act, 
matter, or ZAizigr m J_cZ required to be done, or sAaZZ 
cause or willingly suffer or permit any act, matter, or 
ZAin# 50 directed or required by this Act to be done not to 
be so done, or shall aid or abet any such omission or failure, 
or shall be guilty of any infraction of this Act, or shall 
aid or abet therein, sAaZZ be deemed guilty of a misde¬ 
meanor, and shall, upon conviction thereof in any dis¬ 
trict court of the United States within the jurisdiction of 
which such offense was committed, be subject to a fine of 
not to exceed five thousand dollars for each offense: Pro¬ 
vided, That if the offense for which any person shall be 
convicted as aforesaid shall be an unlawful discrimina¬ 
tion in rates, fares, or charges for the transportation of 
passengers or property, such person shall, in addition to 
the fine hereinbefore provided for, be liable to imprison¬ 
ment in the penitentiary for a term of not exceeding two 
years, or both such fine and imprisonment, in the discre¬ 
tion of the court . 

“ Any common carrier subject to the provisions of this 
Act, or, whenever such common carrier is a corporation, 
any officer or agent thereof, or any person acting for or 
employed by such corporation, who, by means of false 
billing, false classification, false weighing, or false report 
of weight, or by any other device or means, shall knowingly 
and willfully assist, or shall willingly suffer or permit, 
any person or persons to obtain transportation for property 



RAILROAD BILL. 


79 


at less than the regular rates then established and in force 
on the line of transportation of such common carrier, shall 
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, upon con¬ 
viction thereof in any court of the United States of com¬ 
petent jurisdiction within the district in which such offense 
was committed, be subject to a fine of not exceeding five 
thousand dollars, or imprisonment in the penitentiary for 
a term of not exceeding two years, or both, in the discretion 
of the court, for each offense . 

“ Any person, corporation, or company, or any agent 
or officer thereof, who shall deliver property for trans¬ 
portation to any common carrier subject to the provisions 
of this Act, or for whom, as consignor or consignee, any 
such carrier shall transport property, toAo sAaZZ know¬ 
ingly and willfully, directly or indirectly, himself or by 
employee, agent, officer, or otherwise, by false billing, 
/aZse classification, false weighing, /aZso representation of 
the contents of the package or the substance of the property, 
false report of weight, /aZse statement, or &?/ any other 
device or means, whether with or without the consent or 
connivance of the carrier, iZs agent, or officer, obtain trans¬ 
portation for such property at less than the regular rates 
then established and in force on the line of transportation, 
or wAo sAaZZ knowingly and willfully, directly or indi¬ 
rectly , himself or by employee , agent , officer , or otherwise , 
by false statement or representation as to cost , value , 
nature , or extent of injury , or fa/, the use of any false bill , 
bill of lading , receipt , voucher , roZZ, account , claim, cer¬ 
tificate, affidavit, or deposition, knowing the same to be 
false , fictitious, or fraudulent, or to contain any false, 
fictitious, or fraudulent statement, or entry, obtain any 
allowance, refund, or payment for damage or otherwise 
in connection with or growing out of the transportation of 
or agreement to transport, such property, whether with or 


80 


RAILROAD BILL. 


without the consent or connivance of the carrier, whereby 
the compensation of such carrier for such transportation, 
either before or after payment, shall in fact be made less 
than the regular rates then established and in force on the 
line of transportation, shall be deemed guilty of fraud, 
which is hereby declared to be a misdemeanor and shall, 
upon conviction thereof in any court of the United States 
of competent jurisdiction within the district in which such 
offense was wholly or in part committed, be subject for 
. each offense to a fine of not exceeding five thousand dollars 
or imprisonment in the penitentiary for a term of not 
exceeding two years, or both, in the discretion of the court: 
Provided, That the penalty of imprisonment shall not 
apply to artificial persons . 

“ If any such person, or any officer or agent of any such 
corporation or company, shall, by payment of money or 
other thing of value, solicitation, or otherwise, induce any 
common carrier subject to the provisions of this Act, or any 
of its officers or agents, to discriminate unjustly in his, its, 
or their favor as against any other consignor or consignee 
in the transportation of property, or shall aid or abet any 
common carrier in any such unjust discrimination, such 
person or such officer or agent of such corporation or com¬ 
pany shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, 
upon conviction thereof in any court of the United States 
of competent jurisdiction within the district in which such 
offense was committed, be subject to a fine of not exceeding 
five thousand dollars, or imprisonment in the penitentiary 
for a term of not exceeding two years, or both, in the dis¬ 
cretion of the court, for each offense; and such person, cor¬ 
poration, or company shall also, together with said common 
carrier, be liable, jointly or severally, in an action to be 
brought by any consignor or consignee discriminated 
against in any court of the United States of competent 



RAILROAD BILL. 


81 


jurisdiction for all damages caused by or resulting there¬ 
from .’ ’ 

Sec. 8b. That section thirteen of said Act to regulate 
commerce be amended so as to read as follows: 

“Sec. 13. That any person, firm, corporation, com¬ 
pany, or association, or any mercantile, agricultural, or 
manufacturing society or other organization, or any body 
politic or municipal organization, or any common carrier, 
complaining of anything done or omitted to be done by any 
common carrier, subject to the provisions of this Act, in 
contravention of the provisions thereof, or relating in any 
way to the rates demanded, charged, or collected by any 
common carrier, subject to the provisions of this Act, for 
the transportation of persons or property, as defined in sec¬ 
tion one of this Act, or relating to or affecting any classifi¬ 
cation of property with reference to which such rates exist, 
or relating to or affecting any regula tions or practices what¬ 
soever of such carrier, or of the failure of such carrier to 
establish, observe, and enforce just and reasonable classifi¬ 
cations of property and just and reasonable regulations and 
practices, as required by section one of this Act may apply 
to said commission by petition, which shall briefly state the 
facts; whereupon a statement of the complaint thus made 
shall be forwarded by the commission to such common car¬ 
rier, who shall be called upon to satisf y the complaint, or to 
answer the same in writing, within a reasonable time, to be 
specified by the commission. If such common carrier 
within the time specified shall make reparation for the in¬ 
jury alleged to have been done, the common carrier shall be 
relieved of liability to the complainant only for the particu¬ 
lar violation of law thus complained of. If such carrier or 
carriers shall not satisfy the complaint within the time 
specified, or there shall appear to be any reasonable ground 
for investigating said complaint, it shall be the duty of the 

H. Rep. 923, 61-2-6 


82 


RAILROAD BILL. 


commission to investigate the matters complained of in such 
manner and by such means as it shall deem proper. 

“Said commission shall , in like manner and with the 
same authority and powers , investigate any complaint 
forwarded by the railroad commissioner or railroad com¬ 
mission of any State or Territory at the request of such 
commissioner or commission , and the Interstate Commerce 
Commission shall have full authority and power at any 
time to institute an inquiry , on its own motion , in any 
case and as to any matter or thing concerning which a 
complaint is authorized to be made , to or before said com¬ 
mission by any provision of this Act , or concerning which 
any queston may arise under any of the provisions of this 
Act, or relating to the enforcement of any of the provi¬ 
sions of this Act , by any common carrier , subject to its 
provisions or the enforcement of any authority granted 
by this Act to the said commission. And the said com¬ 
mission shall have the same powers and authority to pro¬ 
ceed with any inquiry instituted on its own motion as 
though it had been appealed to by complaint or petition 
under any of the provisions of this Act,'including the 
power to make and enforce any order or orders in the 
case , or relating to the matter or thing concerning which 
the inquiry is had. No complaint shall at any time be 
dismissed because of the absence of direct damage to the 
complainant .” 

Sec. 9. That section fifteen of the said Act to regu¬ 
late commerce, appr oved February f ou rth — eighteen In m- 
dred-a nd - e i ghty -se v e rn r as heretofore amended, is hereby 
now amended so as to read as follows: 

“ Sec. 15. That whenever, after full hearing upon a 
complaint made as provided in section thirteen of this 
Act, or-upon-eo mplaint o f-any-e omm on - carrier, or after 
full hearing under an order for investigation and hearing 







RAILROAD BILL. 


83 


made by the commission on its own initiative (either in 
extension of any pending complaint or without any com¬ 
plaint whatever), the commission shall be of opinion that 
any individual or joint rates or charges whatsoever de¬ 
manded, charged, or collected by any common carrier or 
carriers subject to the provisions of this Act for the trans¬ 
portation of persons or property as defined in the first 
section of this Act, or that any individual or joint classi¬ 
fications, regulations, or practices whatsoever of such car¬ 
rier or carriers affeeting -sueh- ratc s are unjust or unrea¬ 
sonable or unjustly discriminatory, or unduly preferential 
or prejudicial, or otherwise in violation of any of the pro¬ 
visions of this Act, the commission is hereby authorized 
and empowered to determine and prescribe what will be 
the just and reasonable individual or joint rate or rates, 
charge or charges, to be thereafter observed in such case 
as the maximum to be charged, and what individual or 
joint classification, regulation, or practice in-rcspeet-to 
sueh- t - ran s po rt a tio n is just, fair/ and reasonable, to be 
thereafter followed, and to make an order that the car¬ 
rier or carriers shall cease and desist from such violation 
to the extent to which the commission finds the same to 
exist, and shall not thereafter publish, demand, or collect 
any rate or charge for such transportation in excess of the 
maximum amou nf rate or charge so prescribed, and shall 
adopt the classification and shall conform to and estab¬ 
lish , observe , and enforce the regulation or practice so 
prescribed. And where the action of the commission is 
with respect to terminal , switching , icing , storage , eleva¬ 
tion^ or other special charges , which are only made when 
the through rate for the transportation is also imposed , 
and such special charges become part of the aggregate of 
charges for the entire service , the commission may con¬ 
sider such special charges separately or in connection with 


84 


BAILR0AD BILL. 


the total charges or rates and prescribe the maximum rates 
and charges which in the aggregate or separately are just 
and reasonable. All orders of the commission, except 
orders for the payment of money, shall take effect within 
such reasonable time, not less than thirty days, and shall 
continue in force for such period of time, not exceeding 
two years, as shall be prescribed in the order of the com¬ 
mission, unless the same shall be suspended or modified or 
set aside by the commission, or be suspended or set aside by 
a court of competent jurisdiction. Whenever the carrier 
or carriers, in obedience to such order of the commission 
or otherwise, in respect to joint rates, fares, or charges, 
shall fail to agree among themselves upon the apportion¬ 
ment or division thereof the commission may, after hear¬ 
ing, make a supplemental order prescribing the just and 
reasonable proportion of such joint rate to be received by 
each carrier party thereto, which order shall take effect 
as a part of the original order. 

“ Whenever there shall be filed with the commission 
any schedule stating a new individual or joint rate, fare, 
or charge, or any new individual or joint classification, 
or any new individual or joint regulation or practice 
a ff ee ting - a n y - rate — fare - , ■■ or charg er the commission shall 
have, and it is hereby given, authority, either upon com¬ 
plaint or upon its own initiative without complaint, at 
once, and if it so orders, without answer or other formal 
pleading by the interested carrier or carriers, but upon 
reasonable notice, to enter upon a hearing concerning 
the propriety of such rate, fare, charge, classification, 
regulation, or practice; and pending such hearing and 
the decision thereon the commission upon filing with such 
schedule and delivering to the carrier or carriers affected 
thereby a statement in writing of its reasons for such 
suspension may suspend the operation of such schedule 



RAILROAD BILL. 


85 , 


and defer the use of such rate, fare, charge, classification, 
regulation, or practice, but not for a longer period than 
s raty one hundred and twenty days beyond the time when 
such rate, fare, charge, classification, regulation, or prac¬ 
tice would otherwise go into effect; and after full hear¬ 
ing, whether completed before or after the rate, fare, 
charge, classification, regulation, or practice goes into 
effect, the commission may make such order in reference 
to such rate, fare, charge, classification, regulation, or 
practice as would be proper in a proceeding initiated after 
the rate, fare, charge, classification, regulation, or prac¬ 
tice had become effective. 

"The commission may also, after hearing, on a com¬ 
plaint or upon its own initiative without complaint, estab¬ 
lish through routes and joint classifications, and may estab¬ 
lish joint rates as the maximum to be charged and may pre¬ 
scribe the division of such rates as hereinbefore provided 
and the terms and conditions under which such through 
routes shall be operated, whenever the carriers themselves 
shall have refused or neglected to establish voluntarily 
such through routes or joint classifications or joint rates; 
and this provision shall apply when one of the connecting 
carriers is a water line. But this Act shall not he con¬ 
strued to affect traffic originating and ending on the line 
of any water carrier and transported wholly by water and 
shall not he held to affect the limitation of liability of water 
carriers as now provided by law . The commission shall 
not, however, establish any through route, classification, 
or rate between street , suburban, or Intel- u rba n electric 
passenger railways not engaged in the general business of 
transporting freight in addition to their passenger business 
and railroads of a different character. 


86 


RAILROAD BILL. 



¥ 0 * 1^7 


“ In all cases where at the time of delivery of property 
to any railroad corporation being a common carrier, for 
transportation subject to the provisions of this Act to any 
point of destination, between which and the point of such 
delivery for shipment there are two or more through routes 



person, firm, or corporation making such shipment, subject 
to such reasonable exceptions and regulations as the Inter¬ 
state Commerce Commission shall from time to time pre¬ 
scribe, shall have the right to designate in writing by which 
of such through routes such property shall be transported to 
destination, and it shall thereupon be the duty of the ini¬ 
tial carrier to route said property and issue a through bill of 
lading therefor as so directed, and to transport said property 
over its own line or lines and deliver the same to a connect¬ 
ing line or lines according to such through route, and it 
shall be the duty of each of said connecting carriers to 
receive said property and transport it over the said line or 
lines and deliver the same to the next succeeding carrier or 
consignee according to said-bi t i- of-lading such routing 
instructions . 

‘ ‘ If the owner of property transported under this Act 
directly or indirectly renders any service connected with 
such transportation, or furnishes any instrumentality used 



RAILROAD BILL. 


87 


therein, the charge and allowance therefor shall be no 
more than is just and reasonable, and the commission may, 
after hearing on a complaint or on its own initiative, deter¬ 
mine what is a reasonable charge as the maximum to be 
paid by the carrier or carriers for the services so rendered 
or for the use of the instrumentality so furnished, and fix 
the same by appropriate order, which order shall have 
the same force and effect and be enforced in like manner 
as the orders above provided for under this section. 

“The foregoing enumeration of powers shall not ex¬ 
clude any power which the commission would otherwise 
have in the making of an order under the provisions of 
this Act.” 

Sec. 10. That section sixteen of said Act to regulate 



out-thc-f ollow -mg. so as to read as follows: 

“ Sec. 16. That if , after hearing on a complaint made 
as provided in section thirteen of this Act , the commission 
shall determine that any party complainant is entitled to 
an award of damages under the provisions of this A ct for 
a violation thereof , the commission shall make an order 
directing the carrier to pay to the complainant the sum to 
which he is entitled on or before a day named. 

“If a carrier does not comply with an order for the 
payment of money within the time limit in such order , the 
complainant , or any person for whose benefit such order 
was made , may file in the circuit court of the United States 
for the district in which he resides or in which is located 


88 


RAILROAD BILL. 


the principal operating office of the carrier, or through 
which the road of the carrier runs , a petition setting forth 
briefly the causes for which he claims damages , and the 
order of the commission in the premises. Such suit shall 
proceed in all respects like other civil suits for damages , 
except that on the trial of such suit the findings and order 
of the commission shall be prima facie evidence of the facts 
therein stated , and except that the petitioner shall not be 
liable for costs in the circuit court nor for costs at any sub¬ 
sequent stage of the proceedings unless they accrue upon 
his appeal. If the petitioner shall finally prevail he shall 
be allowed a reasonable attorney's fee , to be taxed and 
collected as a part of the costs of the suit. All complaints 
for the recovery of damages shall be filed with the commis¬ 
sion within two years from the time the cause of action 
accrues , and not after , and a petition for the enforcement 
of an order for the payment of money shall be filed in the 
circuit court within one year from the date of the order , 
and not after: Provided , That claims accrued prior to the 
passage of this Act may be presented within one year. 

“In such suits all parties in whose favor the commission 
may have made an award for damages by a single order 
may be joined as plaintiffs , and all of the carriers parties 
to such order awarding such damages may be joined as 
defendants , and such suit may be maintained by such 
joint plaintiffs and against such joint defendants in any 
district where any one of such joint plaintiffs could main¬ 
tain such suit against any one of such joint defendants; 
and service of process against any one of such defendants 
as may not be found in the district where the suit is brought 
may be made in any district where such defendant carrier 
has its principal operating office . In case of such joint 
suit the recovery , if any, may be by judgment in favor of 


RAILROAD BILL. 


89 


any one of such plaintiffs, against the defendant found 
to he liable to such plaintiff. 

“Every order of the commission shall be forthioith 
served by mailing to any one of the principal officers or 
agents of the carrier at his usual place of business a copy 
thereof; and the registry mail receipt shall be prima facie 
evidence of the receipt of such order by the carrier in due 
course of mail. 

“ The commission shall be authorized to suspend or 
modify its orders upon such notice and in such manner as 
it shall deem proper. 

“ It shall be the duty of every common carrier, its agents 
and employees, to observe and comply with such orders so 
long as the same shall remain in effect. 

“Any carrier, any officer, representative, or agent of 
a carrier, or any receiver, trustee, lessee, or agent of either 
of them, who knowingly fails or neglects to obey any order 
made under the provisions of section fifteen of this Act shall 
forfeit to the United States the sum of five thousand dollars 
for each offense. Every distinct violation shall be a sep¬ 
arate offense, and in case of a continuing violation each 
day shall be deemed a separate offense. 

“ The forfeiture provided for in this Act shall be pay¬ 
able into the Treasury of the United States, and shall be 
recoverable in a civil suit in the name of the United States, 
brought in the district where the carrier has its principal 
operating office, or in any district through which the road 
of the carrier runs. 

“It shall be the duty of the various district attorneys, 
under the direction of the Attorney- General of the United 
States, to prosecute for the recovery of forfeiture$. The 
costs and expenses of such prosecution shall be paid out of 
the appropriation for the expenses of the courts of the 
United States. 


90 


RAILROAD BILL. 


“ The commission may employ such attorneys as it finds 
necessary for proper legal aid and service of the commis¬ 
sion or its members in the conduct of their work or for 
proper representation of the public interests in investi¬ 
gations made by it or cases or proceedings pending before 
it, whether at the commission’s own instance or upon 
complaint; and the expenses of such employment shall 
be paid out of the appropriation for the commission. 

“ If any carrier fails or neglects to obey any order of the 
commission other than for the payment of money, while 
•the same is in effect, any party injured thereby, or the 
United States, by its Attorney-General, may apply to 
the eo urt -of commerce court for enforcement of such order. 
If, after hearing, that court determines that the order 
was regularly made and duly served, and that the carrier 
is in disobedience of the same, the court shall enforce 
obedience to such order by a writ of injunction or other 
proper process, mandatory or otherwise, to restrain such 
carrier, its officers, agents, or representatives, from fur¬ 
ther disobedience of such order, or to enjoin upon it or 
them obedience to the same. 

“The copies of schedules and classifications and tariffs 
of rates, fares, and charges, and of all contracts, agree¬ 
ments, and arrangements between common carriers filed 
with the commission as herein provided, and the statis¬ 
tics, tables, and figures contained in the annual or other 
reports of carriers made to the commission as required 
under the provisions of this Act and certificates issued 
by the commission in accordance with any provision of 
law shall be preserved as public records in the custody of 
the secretary of the commission, and shall be received 
as prima facie evidence of what they purport to be for 
the purpose of investigations by the commission and in 


RAILROAD BILL. 


91 


all judicial proceedings; and copies of and extracts from 
any of said schedules, classifications, tariffs, contracts, 
agreements, arrangements, or reports, or certificates made 
public records as aforesaid, certified by the secretary, 
under the commission’s seal, shall be received in evidence 
with like effect as the originals.” 

Sec. 11. That section twenty of the said Act to regu¬ 
late commerce, 


dred-and-ei ght y-se ven y as heretofore amended, is hereby 
amended by striking out the following paragraph: 

“Said detailed reports shall contain all the required 
statistics for the period of twelve months ending on the 
thirtieth day of June in each year, and shall be made out 
under oath and filed with the commission, at its office in 
Washington, on or before the thirtieth day of September 
then next following, unless additional time be granted in 
any case by the commission; and if any carrier, person, 
or corporation subject to the provisions of this Act shall 
fail to make and file said annual reports within the time 
above specified, or within the time extended by the 
commission for making and filing the same, or shall fail 
to make specific answer to any question authorized by 
the provisions of this section within thirty days from the 
time it is lawfully required so to do, such parties shall 
forfeit to the United States the sum of one hundred 
dollars for each and every day it shall continue to be in 
default with respect thereto. The commission shall also 
have authority to require said carriers to file monthly 
reports of earnings and expenses or special reports within 
a specified period, and if any such carrier shall fail to 
file such reports within the time fixed by the com¬ 
mission it shall be subject to the forfeitures last above 
provided; ” 


92 


RAILROAD BILL. 


And by adding inserting in lieu of the paragraph so 
stricken out the following: 

“ Said detailed reports shall contain all the required sta¬ 
tistics for the period of twelve months ending 'on the thir¬ 
tieth day of June in each year, or on the thirty-first day of 
December in each year if the commission by order substi¬ 
tute that period for the year ending June thirtieth, and 
shall be made out under oath and filed with the commis¬ 
sion at its office in Washington within three months after 
the close of the year for which the report is made, unless 
additional time be granted in any case by the commission; 
and if any carrier, person, or corporation subject to the 
provisions of this Act shall fail to make and file said annual 
reports within the time above specified, or within the time 
extended by the commission, for making and filing the 
same, or shall fail to make specific answer to any question 
authorized by the provisions of this section within thirty 
days from the time it is lawfully required so to do, such 
party shall forfeit to the United States the sum of one 
hundred dollars for each and every day it shall continue to 
be in default with respect thereto. The commission shall 
also have authority by general or special orders to require 
said carriers, or any of them, to file monthly reports of earn¬ 
ings and expenses, and to file periodical or special, or both 
periodical and special, reports concerning any matters 
about which the commission is authorized or required by 
this or any other law to inquire or to keep itself informed 
or which it is required to enforce ; and such periodical or 
special reports shall be under oath whenever the commis¬ 
sion so requires; and if any such carrier shall fail to make 
and file any such periodical or special report within the 
time fixed by the commission, it shall be subject to the 
forfeitures last above provided/' 



RAILROAD BILL. 


93 


Sec. 12. That no railroad corporation which is a 
common carrier subject to the Act to regulate commerce, 
approved February fourth, eighteen hundred and eighty- 
seven, as amended, shall hereafter acquire, directly or 
indirectly, any interest of whatsoever kind in the capital 
stock of any railroad or water carrier corporation , or 
purchase or lease -the any rai]roadr-of-an y ra ilro ad corp o¬ 



ration wh ich—at—the date - of th e— p a ssag e—of—this-Act 

owns —no!—less—-than—one-h alf.of th e—entire—issued 

and o utstanding ca p i ta l- st ock of any oth er—railroad 

sueh—stocky—nor—to— preven t—any—suek—corporation 


for not less 



elude streetv- s u hu rban, or intcrurban eleet rie-p ass e ng e r 

railway - c or pora t i ons or water line which is directly and sub¬ 
stantially competitive with that of such first-named corpo¬ 
ration , nor shall any water carrier corporation engaged in 







94 


RAILROAD BILL. 


interstate commerce hereafter acquire , directly or indi¬ 
rectly, any interest of whatsoever kind in the capital stock 
of any railroad corporation , or purchase or lease any rail¬ 
road , that is subject to the Act to regulate commerce and 
which is directly and substantially competitive with such 
water line; nor shall any such railroad or water carrier 
corporation have after the first day of July , nineteen hun¬ 
dred and eleven, as an officer or a director any person who 
may also be at the same time an officer or director of any 
such competing corporation; and any corporation which 
acquires any interest in capital stock , or zohich purchases or 
leases a railroad or water line contrary to this section, or 
which holds or retains any interest in capital stock or in a 
railroad or water line hereafter acquired in violation of 
this section , or which shall have and retain as an officer or 
director after the first day of July , nineteen hundred and 
eleven , any person who is also an officer or director of any 
such competing corporation , shall be fined five thousand 
dollars for each day or part of day during which it holds or 
retains such interest unlawfully acquired , or retains such 
prohibited officer or director. 

Bttt- notking -h orein-eontaiii e d- ^h ftH -be-e on s tfu e d — to 



as amended - of any - interest in the eapit at-stoek- or - the p tff- 

e ha s e - o f- loa se- ef - t - be - ya i h^oad -e f - an y-efb e - r - railroad ■ eompany 

4n-¥rolafron - o f - any -o t ber-^:ef- of - GongT -e ssy - including th e 



u nlaw fu l r es t rai nts and monopolies/' 


Any attempted acquisition of an interest in capital 
stock, or the purchase or lease of a railroad or water line , 








RAILROAD BILL. 


95 


contrary to this section shall be void and may be enjoined 
by any court of competent jurisdiction at the suit of the 
United States; and the holding or retention of any inter¬ 
est in capital stock or the acquisition of a railroad or water 
line contrary to this section may likewise be enjoined in 
any court of competent jurisdiction at the suit of the 
United States; but any railroad or water carrier corpora¬ 
tion, being a common carrier as aforesaid, which proposes 
to acquire any interest in the capital stock or to lease or 
purchase a railroad or water line of any other corporation 
may apply to the eourt of commerce court by its petition 
for that purpose, filed in advance of actual taking of such 
interest in capital stock or the acquisition of such railroad 
or water line , but after an agreement or contract for its 
acquisition has been made, with a stipulation therein that 
such agreement or contract shall take effect in case it is 
found by the c o u rt of commerce court not to violate this 
section, for an adjudication as between such corporation 
and the United States, whether or not the proposed acqui¬ 
sition of an interest in the capital stock or the proposed 
purchase or lease of the railroad or water line of another 
corporation violates this section, and the adjudication of 
the court-ef commerce court upon such application shall 
have the ordinary effect of judgments as an estoppel 
between the parties. 

The eou r t-of commerce court is hereby given jurisdic¬ 
tion to hear and determine such applications and to take 
all proper proceedings thereon; and the filing of said 
petition shall be taken as a consent on the part of the 
corporation making the application that the eeur-t-ef com¬ 
merce court issue at once an interlocutory injunction 
against the proposed acquisition pending final determi¬ 
nation by the court concerning its legality hereunder. 
If the e ott i 4-of commerce court finally adjudges the pro- 



96 


RAILROAD BILL. 


posed transaction to be unlawful, it shall by its decree 
permanently enjoin the proposed acquisition. In case 
the United States shall have sued to restrain the proposed 
•acquisition in a court other than the eourt-of commerce 
court before the corporation proposing to make such ac¬ 
quisition files its petition as aforesaid in the eourt-of 
commerce court , such suit of the United States shall be 
stayed pending the decision of the eou r t-of commerce court 
if it has not yet proceeded to final decree, and said suit of 


the United States shall be dismissed if the court- of com¬ 
merce court finally adjudges that the proposed acquisition 



nothing herein contained shall be construed to affect in 
any way any suit or action pending at the passage of this 
Act , nor the rights or liabilities of any party thereto , nor 
to authorize or validate the acquisition by a railroad cor¬ 
poration , being a common carrier subject to said Act to 
regulate commerce , as amended , of any interest in the cap¬ 
ital stock , or the purchase or lease of the railroad or water 
line of any other railroad or water carrier company , in 
violation of any Act of Congress , including the Act ap¬ 
proved July second , eighteen hundred and ninety , entitled 
“ An Act to protect trade and commerce against unlawful 
restraints and monopoliesAnd provided f urther, That 
the right to so apply to said commerce court shall not ex¬ 
tend to any railroad corporation now holding stock in any 
other railroad corporation in violation of any Act of 
Congress , including the said Act approved July second , 




RAILROAD BILL. 


97 


eighteen hundred and ninety , which holding is the subject 
or in any way involved in any suit or action pending at 
the date of the passage of this Act. 


A^-4o-^ egnlato -€o mmcroo, approvc d-i^eb ruary fourth - , - 

hereafter i ss ue for any -p urpo s e c o nn eete d -w ith -or-r ek -t ing 

to-any part - of - its business governed by said Act to regulate 

s tock wi t h o ut - previou s or s imultaneous payment to it of 

o ther cvi de m e-o f -4ft debiedne s8--e%eept- ft o t es-- maturing 

n ot - morc than one - year-from -- the - date -o f 4 heir - issuc - ,-with - 

ou t - previous or simultanc eas- payment-t o-s a e h -eorpor ati on 


not les s tha nkts -rea s on abie market - value - a s ■ ascertained 

by-the -■ Inter s tate Commerce Commis s i o n -- and - stated i n 

a sealed certificate i ss ued -by-t he conmiissio n- to - the -eor- 


erty, services,-or - othef -t hing-thaft - m o ney-shall be taken 

i n payment to - t he-eor porati on of - the - par - or - other -r equired 

price of such stock, certificate - of -s toefe j- evidene e -of -dn- 


than-m o ney, as ascert ained- by the - Interstate -- (kmmerco 

Commi ssion-a nd- s ta ted-in a sealed certificate issued - by it 



by any railroad corporati on-s n bj-ect-to-this Act, under any 

consolidation or - merger of-two or -m oro railr o ad corpora - 

H. Rep. 923, 61-2-7 



















98 


RAILROAD BILL. 


t i e ns under the laws of one or more-S te4e-ef-8tftteo-a^ 

ptieakte-fe crcto, or pursuant to ft ay - p l an of reorganization : 


¥te w of insolvency or otherwise,- the- issuo of suoh- ee w 



i Ill Cl ^ Cl 

of-e o fts ol ida tion or rcpreseii te4-ift such rcorg a m g ation. 

ife-i 



eiiffiee— npen kane of s uck stock or -h onds under the rules 

kere iiibcfor e prescribed con eemj- H g- k stte^-o ^^ek -o rto ftds- , - 



8 ioii - wottl 4- b ft¥e-Q ;yailcd - to -p f oett^e-f af -si i eb-fb-e orporation 









RAILROAD BILL. 


99 



ett ritie s- forbiMen by this section s-feti—b e punisbe d -b y 


fi ne -o f -ftek moyc- feb-ft i ^^eft-^ hou s and -d ollars or impri so n - 



Seg. 13. That a new section be added to said Act to 
regulate commerce, to be numbered as section 25 , as 
follows: 

“Sec. 25. That no railroad corporation which is a 
common carrier subject to the provisions of this Act as 
amended shall hereafter issue for any purpose connected 
with or relating to any pjart of its business governed by the 
provisions of this Act as amended any stock , bonds, notes , 
or other evidences of indebtedness to an amount exceeding 
that which may from time to time be reasonably necessary 
for the purpose for which such issue of stock, bonds , notes, 
or other evidences of indebtedness may be authorized. 

“The amount of said securities to be thus issued, except¬ 
ing notes maturing not more than two years from the date 




100 


RAILROAD BILL. 


of their issue , shall he determined by the Interstate Com¬ 
merce Commission , and any sale of said securities shall 
he at a price not less than their reasonable value, which , 
excepting as to notes maturing not more than two years 
from the date of their issue , shall he ascertained and fixed 
by the commission. Said commission shall render a de¬ 
cision upon an application for such issue within thirty 
days after the final hearing thereon. Such decision shall 
he in writing, shall assign the reasons therefor, shall , if 
authorizing such issue, specify the respective amounts of 
stock , bonds, or notes or other evidences of indebtedness 
as aforesaid which are authorized to be issued for the 
respective purposes to which the proceeds thereof are to 
be applied. A certificate of the decision of said commis¬ 
sion shall , before the stock , bonds, or notes or other evi¬ 
dences of indebtedness as aforesaid are issued, be de¬ 
livered to the corporation. Such corporation shall not 
apply the proceeds of such stock , bonds , or notes or other 
evidences of indebtedness as aforesaid to any purpose not 
specified in such certificate , and no property, services , or 
other thing than money shall be taken in payment to the 
corporation of the required price of such stock , certificate 
of stock , bond, or other evidence of indebtedness , except 
at the fair value of such property, services , or other thing 
than money , which shall be ascertained by the Interstate 
Commerce Commission and stated in a certificate issued 
by it to such corporation , or to any person or persons 
intending to form such corporation, and recorded with 
the commission before the issue of said stock , certificate 
of stock , or other evidence of indebtedness: Provided, 
That nothing herein contained shall be construed to pre¬ 
vent a corporation subject to this Act from issuing its 
stock , bonds , or other obligations to refund bonds or other 
obligations heretofore or hereafter issued and outstanding 


RAILROAD BILL. 


101 


to an amount reasonably necessary for that purpose deter¬ 
mined as hereinbefore provided. 

“No railroad corporation subject to the provisions of 
this Act as amended shall hereafter, for any purpose con¬ 
nected with or relating to any part of its business governed 
by this Act, issue any capital stock convertible into other 
capital stock of such railroad corporation unless by the 
terms of the certificate representing the stock so convertible 
the amount, par value, of capital stock that the holder of 
such certificate is entitled to receive in exchange therefor 
shall be equal to or less than the par value of the shares of 
stock represented by such certificate of convertible stock; 
but nothing contained in this Act shall be deemed to pro¬ 
hibit the issue by any tfach corporation of its capital stock 
in exchange for and in accordance with the terms of such 
convertible stock issued in accordance with the provisions 
of this paragraph. 

“ Nothing in this section contained shall be construed to 
prohibit the mortgage or pledge by any railroad corporation 
subject to the provisions of this Act as amended of any bond 
or other evidence of indebtedness issued by such railroad 
corporation as security for or as part security for any note, 
bond, or other evidence of indebtedness issued by or loan 
made to such railroad corporation which shall not be issued 
or made in violation of the provisions of this Act: Pro¬ 
vided, That the terms of said loan and of such notes, bonds, 
or other evidences of indebtedness, if any, shall provide 
that none of said pledged bonds or other evidences of indebt¬ 
edness shall, upon nonpayment of the notes, bonds, or other 
evidences of indebtedness which they are pledged to secure, 
or upon nonperformance of any of the conditions thereof, 
be sold or become the property of the holders of the notes, 
bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness so secured, either 
directly or through a trustee for their benefit, except at or 


102 


RAILROAD BILL. 


through public sale, notice whereof shall be published at 
least once a week for not less than three successive weeks 
prior thereto in at least one daily newspaper of general cir¬ 
culation published in the place where such sale shall take 
place: And provided further, That if such notes, bonds, or 
other evidences of indebtedness, if any, shall provide that 
the owners thereof shall have the right to convert the same 
into the bonds or other evidences of indebtedness so mort¬ 
gaged or pledged, the Interstate Commerce Commission, 
previously to the making of such loan, shall have ascer¬ 
tained and stated, in a certificate issued by the commission 
to such corporation, or to any person or persons intending 
to organize such corporation and recorded with the commis¬ 
sion or otherwise, as authorized by this Act, the reasonable 
market or selling value of such bonds or other evidences of 
indebtedness so mortgaged or pledged and the rate which 
said reasonable market or selling value bears to the reason¬ 
able market or selling value of such secured notes, bonds, or 
other evidences of indebtedness, and that such secured notes, 
bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness shall not provide 
that the owners thereof shall have the right, upon such con¬ 
version, to receive in exchange therefor bonds or other evi¬ 
dences of indebtedness so mortgaged, or pledged to an amount 
greater than would be receivable at the rate so found and 
stated in such certificate of the commission. 

“Nothing in this Act contained shall be taken to pro¬ 
hibit the issue of any bond or other evidence of indebtedness 
pursuant to the terms of any instrument heretofore exe¬ 
cuted, provided the same shall not be sold except in con¬ 
formity with the provisions of this section. 

“Nothing in this Act contained shall in any way effect 
or impair the validity of any mortgage or pledge of any 
capital stock, certificate of stock, bond, or other evidence 
of indebtedness now mortgaged or pledged as security for 


RAILROAD BILL. 


103 


or as part security for any loan heretofore made to any 
such corporation, or prohibit the sale, upon foreclosure or 
otherwise, of any such mortgaged or pledged stock, cer- 
tificate of stock, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness 
upon the terms and conditions provided in the instrument, 
if any, whereunder such securities may have been pledged 
or in the contract of loan; and nothing in this section 
contained shall be construed in any way to prohibit or 
affect the issue of any capital stock or the delivery of any 
certificate of stock, or the issue of any bond or other 
evidence of indebtedness in exchange for or to provide for 
the retirement of any capital stock, certificate of stock, bond, 
or other evidence of indebtedness now outstanding or pro¬ 
vided to be issued, or the pledge of the exchanged or retired 
stock or securities on such terms and conditions as maybe 
provided in the instruments whereunder any of the stocks, 
bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness referred to in 
this paragraph are respectively issued or authorized to 
be issued.” 

Sec. 14. That a new section be added to said Act to 
regulate commerce, to be numbered as section twenty-six, 
as follows: 

“ Sec. 26. That in case at any time it shall be proposed 
by or pursuant to any plan of reorganization of any rail¬ 
road corporation or corporations incorporated prior to 
January first, nineteen hundred and ten, the properties 
whereof shall be in the hands of a receiver or of receivers, 
or shall be subject to be sold in any suit or suits or other 
judicial proceedings for forclosure of any mortgage or 
deed of trust heretofore executed, or for the dissolution or 
winding up of such corporation, or to procure the satis¬ 
faction of its debts or the application of its property 
thereto, pending at the time of such proposal that any 
corporation utilized or to be utilized for the purposes of 


104 


RAILROAD BILL. 


such reorganization, which at such time shall he, or, 
when organized and operating, will he, subject to the 
provisions of this Act as amended [every corporation so 
utilized or to he utilized being hereinafter referred to by 
the term “ New corporation”), shall issue stock and bonds 
and other evidences of indebtedness, or any thereof, for 
any purpose connected with or relating to any part of its 
business governed by this Act, as amended, application 
for any certificate of the Interstate Commerce Commis¬ 
sion that may be requisite under the provisions of this 
section may be made by any person, committee, or repre¬ 
sentatives of any committee, or by managers having in 
charge the formulating or. carrying out of any such plan 
of reorganization, and such certificate may be issued 
to such person, committee, representatives, or managers 
for the use of the new corporation; and the issue pur¬ 
suant to such plan of reorganization by any new corpo¬ 
ration of stock, whether of a single class or of two or more 
classes as may be authorized by law, to an amount in the 
aggregate not exceeding the fair estimated value of the 
property of the corporation or corporations so reorganized 
or to be reorganized, which shall be ascertained by the 
Interstate Commerce Commission, and which aggregate 
amount shall be stated in a certificate issued by said com¬ 
mission to such person, committee, representatives, or man¬ 
agers for the use of the new corporation, and in no case 
shall exceed the aggregate amount of the par value of the 
stocks of the corporation or corporations reorganized or to 
be reorganized; and the issue by any new corporation of 
bonds and other evidences of indebtedness, whether unse¬ 
cured or secured by mortgage upon said properties or 
otherwise, to an aggregate amount not exceeding the 
amount of new money paid to the new corporation pur - 
suant to such plan of reorganization, and 'the amounts of 




RAILROAD BILL. 


105 


bonds and other obligations and debts, including receiver’s 
liabilities, which at the time of such sale or sales may have 
constituted claims or charges, whether legal or equitable, 
upon or against the corporation or corporations so reor¬ 
ganized, or the properties thereof, and provision for the 
payment of which or the delivery of securities of the new 
corporation in exchange for which shall be made in such 
plan shall not be deemed to be prohibited by anything con¬ 
tained in this Act: Provided, That the aggregate amount 
of interest charges agreed to be paid by the new corporation 
or to which its property will be subject shall not exceed the 
aggregate amount of the interest charges to which the cor¬ 
poration or corporations so reorganized or their properties 
shall have been subject; and nothing in this Act shall be 
deemed to prohibit the new corporation from assuming any 
bonds, debts, or other obligations of the corporation or 
corporations so reorganized in place of which it might, in 
accordance with the rules prescribed by this section, issue 
its own stocks, bonds, or other obligations . 

“In case two or more railroad corporations subject to 
the provisions of this Act, as amended, shall be consoli¬ 
dated or merged pursuant to the laws of a State or States 
applicable thereto and such consolidation or merger shall 
consist in uniting the organizations, properties, businesses, 
and stocks of said corporations; and if the Interstate Com¬ 
merce Commission shall have ascertained and stated in a 
certificate issued by it to the corporations in respect to 
which such consolidation or merger is to take place or shall 
have taken place, or to one of them (or to any person, com¬ 
mittee, or representatives of any committee, or to managers 
having in charge the formulating or carrying out of any 
plan of reorganization such as is hereinbefore mentioned 
under which the corporation that is to issue new securities 
to be distributed under such plan will be a corporation 


106 


RAILROAD BILL. 


resulting from any consolidation or consolidations, merger 
or mergers), that the stock to he issued by such consolidated 
corporation and the bonds and other obligations, if any, to 
be assumed and issued thereby does not exceed the fair 
estimated value of the properties of such consolidated cor¬ 
poration, nothing in this Act contained shall be deemed to 
prohibit the issue of such stock and bonds and other obliga¬ 
tions, or any of them, or the assumption of all or any of 
the bonds or other obligations of the corporations so con¬ 
solidated or merged. 

“Nothing in this Act contained shall prevent a railroad 
corporation subject to the provisions of this Act, as 
amended, from acquiring the stock and bonds of another 
railroad corporation, subject to said Act, which is not di¬ 
rectly and substantially competitive with that of such first- 
mentioned corporation, by the issue of its own stock and 
bonds, provided the aggregate amount of the par values of 
the stock and bonds so issued shall not exceed the fair value 
of the property of the corporation whose stock and bonds are 
so acquired, which value shall be ascertained by the Inter¬ 
state Commerce Commission. 

“But nothing herein contained shall be construed to 
authorize or to validate or permit the consolidation or 
merger in any manner of two or more corporations in 
violation of any Act of Congress, including the Act ap¬ 
proved July second, eighteen hundred and ninety, entitled 
‘An Act to protect trade and commerce against unlawful 
restraints and monopolies ” 

Sec. 15. That a new section be added to said Act to 
regulate commerce, to be numbered as section twenty- 
seven, as follows: 

u Sec. 27. That upon application for a certificate of 
the Interstate Commerce Commission, pursuant to the 
provisions of this Act, of which notice shall be served on 
the United States in like manner as is provided with 



RAILROAD BILL. 


107 


respect to notices of hearings upon petition in accordance 
with the provisions of this Act, the commission shall hear 
and determine the matters as to which its certificate is 
desired, and may make proper rules and regulations con¬ 
cerning the manner of such application and the conduct 
of the hearing. 

“ Any director, officer, or stockholder of such corpora¬ 
tion who knowingly and willfully assents to or concurs in 
any issue of securities forbidden by the provisions of this 
Act shall be punished by a fine of not more than ten thou¬ 
sand dollars, or imprisonment not longer than three years, 
or both. 

“ Nothing in this Act contained shall in any way affect 
or impair the validity of any such stock, certificates of 
stock, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness in the 
hands of innocent holders for value.” 

Sec. 16. That nothing in this Act contained shall undo 
or impair any proceedings heretofore taken by or before 
the Interstate Commerce Commission or any of the acts of 
said commission; and in any cases, proceedings, or matters 
now pending before it, the commission may exercise any 
of the powers hereby conferred upon it, as would be proper 
in cases, proceedings, or matters hereafter initiated; and 
nothing in this Act contained shall operate to release or 
affect any obligation, liability, penalty, or forfeiture here¬ 
tofore existing against or incurred by any person, corpora¬ 
tion, or association. 

Sec. 17. That this Act shall take effect and be in force 
from and after the expiration of sixty days after its pas¬ 
sage. 

Amend the. title so as to read: “ A bill to create a com¬ 
merce court, and to amend the Act entitled ‘An Act to 
regulate commerce/ approved February fourth, eighteen 
hundred and eighty-seven, as heretofore amended, and for 
other purposes.” 


108 


RAILROAD BILL. 


PRINT OF SUBSTITUTE BILL, SHOWING COMPARISON WITH EXIST¬ 
ING ACT TO REGULATE COMMERCE. 

[Existing law printed in roman. Parts stricken out show language in law omitted. 

Parts in italics show provisions not now in the law.] 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa¬ 
tives of the United States of America in Congress assem¬ 
bled, That a court of the United States is hereby created 
which shall be known as the commerce court and shall have 
the jurisdiction now possessed by circuit courts of the 
United States and the judges thereof over all cases of the 
following kinds: 

First. All cases for the enforcement, otherwise than by 
adjudication and collection of a forfeiture or penalty or 
by infliction of criminal punishment, of any order of the 
Interstate Commerce Commission other than for the pay¬ 
ment of money. 

Second. Cases brought to enjoin, set aside, annul, or 
suspend in whole or in part any order of the Interstate 
Commerce Commission. 

Third. Such cases as by section three of the Act to fur¬ 
ther regulate commerce with foreign nations and among 
the States, approved February nineteenth, nineteen hun¬ 
dred and three, are authorized to be maintained in a circuit 
court of the United States. 

Fourth. All such mandamus proceedings as under the 
provisions of section twenty or section twenty-three of the 
Act to regulate commerce, approved February fourth, 
eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, as amended, are 
authorized to be maintained in a circuit court of the 
United States. 

Nothing hereinbefore contained in this Act shall be con¬ 
strued as enlarging the jurisdiction now possessed by the 
circuit courts of the United States or the judges thereof, 


RAILROAD BILL. 


109 


which is hereby transferred to and vested in the commerce 
court. 

The jurisdiction of the commerce court over cases of the 
foregoing classes shall be exclusive; but this Act shall not 
affect the jurisdiction now possessed by any circuit or dis¬ 
trict court of the United States over cases or proceedings 
of a kind not within the above-enumerated classes. 

The commerce court shall be a court of record , and 
shall have a seal of such form and style as the court may 
prescribe. The said court shall be composed of five judges, 
to be from time to time designated and assigned thereto by 
the Chief Justice of the United States from among the 
circuit judges of the United States , for the period of five 
years, except that in the first instance the court shall be 
composed of the five additional circuit judges to be ap¬ 
pointed as hereinafter provided , who shall be designated 
by the President to serve for one , two , three , four , and 
five years, respectively , in order that the period of desig¬ 
nation of one of the said judges shall expire in each year 
thereafter. In case of the death , resignation , or termina¬ 
tion of assignment of any judge so designated , the Chief 
Justice shall designate a circuit judge to fill the vacancy 
so caused and to serve during the unexpired period for 
which the original designation was made. After the year 
nineteen hundred and fourteen no circuit judge shall be 
redesignated to serve on the commerce court until the ex¬ 
piration of at least one year after the expiration of the 
period of his last previous designation. The judge first 
designated for the five-year period shall be the presiding 
judge of said court, and thereafter the judge senior in 
commission shall be the presiding judge. 

Each of the judges during the period of his service in 
the commerce court shall , on account of the regular ses¬ 
sions of the court being held in the city of Washington , 


110 


RAILROAD BILL. 


receive in addition to his salary as circuit judge an ex¬ 
pense allowance at the rate of two thousand dollars per 
annum. The President shall, hy and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate , appoint five additional circuit 
judges , no two of whom shall he from the same judicial 
circuit , who shall hold office during good behavior and 
who shall be from time to time designated and assigned 
by the Chief Justice of the United States for service in 
the circuit court for any district , or the circuit court of 
appeals for any circuit , or in the commerce court. 

The associate judges shall have precedence and shall 
succeed to the place and powers of the presiding judge 
whenever he may be absent or incapable of acting in the 
order of the date of their co?nmissions. Four of said 
judges shall constitute a quorum , and at least a majority 
of the court shall concur in all decisions. 

The court shall also have a clerk and a marshal , with 
the same duties and powers , so far as they may be appro¬ 
priate and are not altered by rule of the court, as are now 
possessed by the clerk and marshal, respectively, of the 
Supreme Court of the United States. The offices of the 
clerk and marshal of the court shall be in the city of 
Washington , in the District of Columbia. The judges 
of the court shall appoint the clerk and marshal , and may 
also appoint , if they -find it necessary , a deputy clerk and 
deputy marshal; and such clerk, marshal, deputy clerk , 
and deputy marshal shall hold office during the pleasure 
of the court. The salary of the clerk shall be four thou¬ 
sand dollars per annum , the salary of the marshal three 
thousand dollars per annum , the salary of the deputy 
clerk two thousand five hundred dollars per annum, and 
the salary of the deputy marshal two thousand five hun¬ 
dred dollars per annum. The said clerk and marshal 
may , with the approval of the court , employ all requisite 


RAILROAD BILL. 


Ill 


assistance. The costs and fees in said court shall he 
established by the court in a table thereof, approved by 
the Supreme Court of the United States, within four 
months after the organization of the court; but such costs 
and fees shall in no case exceed those charged in the 
Supreme Court of the United States, and shall be 
accounted for and paid into the Treasury of the United 
States. 

The commerce court shall be always open for the trans¬ 
action of business. Its regular sessions shall be held in the 
city of Washington, in the District of Columbia; but the 
powers of the court or of any judge thereof, or of the clerk, 
marshal, deputy clerk, or deputy marshal may be exercised 
anywhere in the United States; and for expedition of the 
work of the court and the avoidance of undue expense or 
inconvenience to suitors the court shall hold sessions in dif¬ 
ferent parts of the United States as may be found desir¬ 
able. The actual and necessary expenses of the judges, 
clerk, marshal, deputy clerk, and deputy marshal of the 
court incurred for travel and attendance elsewhere than 
in the city of Washington shall be paid upon the written 
and itemized certificate of such judge, clerk, marshal, dep¬ 
uty clerk, or deputy marshal by the marshal of the court, 
and shall be allowed to him in the statement of his accounts 
with the United States. 

The United States marshals of the several districts out¬ 
side of the city of Washington in which the commerce court 
may hold its sessions shall provide, under the direction and 
with the approval of the Attorney- General of the United 
States, such rooms in the public buildings of the United 
States as may be necessary for the court's use; but in case 
proper roofns can not be provided in such public buildings 
said marshals, with the approval of the Attorney- General 


112 


RAILROAD BILL. 


of the United States, may then lease from time to time 
other necessary rooms for the court. 

If, at any time, the business of the commerce court 
does not require the continuous services of all the judges, 
the Chief Justice of the United States may, by writing , 
signed by him and filed in the Department of State, termi¬ 
nate the assignment of any of the judges or temporarily 
assign him for service in any circuit court or circuit court 
of appeals. In case of illness or other disability of any 
judge assigned to the commerce court, the Chief Justice 
of the United States may assign any other circuit judge 
of the United States to act in his place, and may terminate 
such assignment when the exigence therefor shall cease; 
and any circuit judge so assigned to act in place of such 
judge shall, during his assignment, exercise all the powers 
and perform all the functions of such judge. 

In all cases within its jurisdiction the commerce court, 
and each of the judges assigned thereto, shall, respectively, 
have and may exercise any and all of the powers of a 
circuit court of the United States and of the judges of said 
court, respectively, so far as the same may be appropriate 
to the effective exercise of the jurisdiction hereby conferred. 
The commerce court may issue all writs and process appro¬ 
priate to the full exercise of its jurisdiction and powers 
and may prescribe the form thereof. It may also, from 
time to time, establish such rules and regulations concern¬ 
ing pleading, practice, or procedure in cases or matters 
within its jurisdiction as to the court shall seem wise and 
proper. Its orders, ivrits, and process may run, be served, 
and be returnable anywhere in the United States; and the 
marshal and deputy marshal of said court and also the 
United States marshals and deputy marshals in'the several 
districts of the United States shall have like powers and be 
under like duties to act for and in behalf of said court as 



RAILROAD BILL. 


113 


pertain to United States marshals and deputy marshals 
generally when acting under like conditions concerning 
suits or matters in the circuits of the United States. 

The jurisdiction of the commerce court shall be invoked 
by filing in the office of the clerk of the court a ivritten pe¬ 
tition setting forth briefly and succinctly the facts consti¬ 
tuting the petitioner's cause of action, and specifying the 
relief sought. A copy of such petition shall be forthwith 
served by the marshal or a deputy marshal of the commerce 
court or by the proper United States marshal or deputy 
marshal upon every defendant therein named, and when 
the United States is a party defendant, the service shall be 
made by filing a copy of said petition in the office of the sec¬ 
retary of the Interstate Commerce Commission and in the 
Department of Justice. In case a defendant to such pe¬ 
tition can not be found within the district of his last-known 
residence or place of business, and the marshal shall so 
return, service of the petition may be made in the manner 
provided in section eight of the Act entitled “ An Act to 
determine the jurisdiction of circuit courts of the United 
States, and to regulate the removal of causes from state 
courts, and for other purposes,'' approved March third, 
eighteen hundred and seventy-five. Within thirty days 
after the petition is served, unless that time is extended by 
order of the court or a judge thereof, an answer to the peti¬ 
tion shall be filed in the clerk's office, and a copy thereof 
mailed to the petitioner's attorney, which answer shall 
briefly and categorically respond to the allegations of the 
petition. No replication need be filed to the answer, and 
objections to the sufficiency of the petition or answer as not 
setting forth a cause of action or defense must be taken at 
the final hearing and not by demurrer. In case no answer 
shall be filed as provided herein the petitioner may apply to 
the court on notice for such relief as may be proper upon 

H. Rep. 923, 61-2-8 


114 


RAILROAD BILL. 


the facts alleged in the petition. The court may, by rule, 
prescribe the method of taking evidence in cases pending in 
said court , and may prescribe that the evidence be taken 
before a single judge of the court, with power to rule upon 
the admission of evidence. Except as may be otherwise 
provided in this Act, or by rule of the court , the practice 
and procedure in the commerce court shall conform as 
nearly as may be to that in like cases in a circuit court of 
the United States. 

Sec. 2. That final judgment or decree of the com¬ 
merce court may be reviewed by the Supreme Court of 
the United States if appeal to the Supreme Court be taken 
by an aggrieved party within sixty days after the entry of 
said final judgment or decree. Such appeal may be taken 
in like manner as appeals from a circuit court of the United 
States to the Supreme Court, and the commerce court may 
direct the original record to be transmitted on appeal 
instead of a transcript thereof. The Supreme Court may 
affirm, reverse , or modify the final judgment or decree of 
the commerce court as the case may require. 

Appeal to the Supreme Court , however , shall in no case 
supersede or stay the judgment or decree of the commerce 
court appealed from, unless the Supreme Court or a jus¬ 
tice thereof shall so direct , and appellant shall give bond 
in such form and of such amount as the Supreme Court , 
or the justice of that court allowing the stay , may require. 

Appeals to the Supreme Court under this section shall 
have priority in hearing and determination over all other 
causes except criminal causes in that court. 

Sec. 3. That suits to enjoin , set aside, annul , or sus¬ 
pend any order of the Interstate Commerce Commission 
shall be brought in the commerce court against the United, 
States. The pendency of such suit shall not of itself stay 
or suspend the operation of the order of the Interstate Com- 


RAILROAD BILL. 


115 


merce Commission; but the commerce court, in its discre¬ 
tion, may restrain or suspend, in whole or in part, the 
operation of the commission’s order pending the final 
hearing and determination of the suit. No order or 
injunction so restraining or suspending an order of the 
Interstate Commerce Commission shall be made by the 
commerce court otherwise than upon notice and after 
hearing, except that in cases where irreparable damage 
would otherwise ensue to the petitioner, said court, or a 
judge thereof, may allow a temporary stay or suspension 
in whole or in part of the operation of the order of the 
Interstate Commerce Commission for not more than sixty 
days from the date of his order, pending application to 
the court for its order or injunction, in which case the said 
order shall contain a specific finding, based upon evidence 
submitted to the judge making the order and identified by 
reference thereto, that such irreparable damage would 
result to the petitioner and specifying the nature of the 
damage. The court may, at the time of hearing such 
application, upon a like finding, continue the temporary 
stay or suspension in whole or in part until its decision 
upon the application. 

Sec. 4. That from and after the passage of this Act all 
cases and proceedings in the commerce court which, but for 
this Act, would be brought by or against the Interstate 
Commerce Commission shall be brought by or against the 
United States, and the United States may intervene in 
any case or proceeding in the commerce court whenever, 
though it has not been made a party, public interests are 
involved. 

Sec. 5. That the Attorney - General shall have charge 
and control of the interests of the Government in all cases 
and proceedings in the commerce court and in the Supreme 
Court of the United States upon appeal from the com- 


116 


RAILROAD BILL. 


merce court; and if in his opinion the public interest 
requires it , may retain and employ in the name of the 
United States such special attorneys and counselors at 
law as he may think necessary to assist in the discharge 
of any of the duties incumbent upon him and his subor¬ 
dinate attorneys; and the Attorney- General shall stipulate 
with such special attorneys and counsel the amount of 
their compensation and shall have supervision of their 
action: Provided , That parties in interest to the proceed¬ 
ing before the commission , in which an order or require¬ 
ment is made , may appear and be represented by their 
counsel , upon such terms as the court may prescribe , in 
any suit wherein is involved the validity of such order or 
requirement or any part thereof , and the interest of such 
party; but such appearance and representation shall not 
interfere with the control of the case by the Attorney- 
General, and the court wherein is pending such suit may 
make all such rules and orders as to such appearances and 
representations , the number of counsel, and all matter of 
procedure , and otherwise, as to subserve the ends of justice 
and speed the determination of such suits. 

Sec. 6. That until the opening of the commerce court 
as in section one hereof provided, all cases and proceed¬ 
ings of which from that time the commerce court is hereby 
given exclusive jurisdiction may be brought in the same 
courts and conducted in like manner and with like effect 
as is now provided by law; and if any such case or pro¬ 
ceeding shall have gone to final judgment or decree before 
the opening of said court appeal may be taken from such 
final judgment or decree in like manner and with like 
effect as is now provided by law. Any such case or pro¬ 
ceeding within the jurisdiction of the commerce court 
which may have been begun in any other court as hereby al¬ 
lowed before the said date shall be forthwith transferred 


RAILROAD BILL. 


117 


to the commerce court , if it has not yet proceeded to final 
judgment or decree in such other court unless it has been 
finally submitted for the decision of such court , in which 
case the cause shall proceed in the circuit court to 'final 
judgment or decree and further proceeding thereafter , 
and appeal may be taken direct to the Supreme Court , and 
if remanded such cause may be sent back to the circuit 
court or to the commerce court for further proceeding as 
the Supreme Court shall direct; and all previous proceed¬ 
ings in such transferred case shall stand and operate 
notwithstanding the transfer , subject to the same control 
over them by the commerce court and to the same right of 
subsequent action in the case or proceeding as if the trans¬ 
ferred case or proceeding had been originally begun in 
the commerce court. The clerk of the court from which 
any case or proceeding is so transferred to the commerce 
court shall transmit to and file in the commerce court the 
originals of all papers filed in such case or proceeding and 
a certified transcript of all record entries in the case or 
proceeding up to the time of transfer. 

Sec. 6a. That section one of the Act entitled “An Act 
to regulate commerceapproved February fourth, eight¬ 
een hundred and eighty-seven , as heretofore amended , is 
hereby now amended so as to read as follows: 

“ Section 1 . That the provisions of this Act shall 
apply to any corporation or any person or persons engaged 
in the transportation of oil or other commodity, except 
water and except natural or artificial gas, by means of pipe 
lines, or partly by pipe lines and partly by railroad, or 
partly by pipe lines and partly by water, who shall be con¬ 
sidered and held to be common carriers within the mean¬ 
ing and purpose of this Act, and to any common carrier or 
carriers engaged in the transportation of passengers or 
property wholly by railroad (or partly by railroad and 


118 


RAILROAD BILL. 


partly by water when both are used under a common con¬ 
trol, management, or arrangement for a continuous car¬ 
riage or shipment), from one State, or Territory of—the 
United - St a l es, or the District of Columbia the United 
States , to any other State, or- Territory, or District of the 
United States, or the District of Colu m bi a or from one 
place in a Territory or District to another place in the same 
Territory or District , or from any place in the United 
States to an adjacent foreign country, or from any place in 
the United States through a foreign country to any other 
place in the United States, and also to the transportation 
in like manner of property shipped from any place in the 
United States to a foreign country and carried from such 
place to a port of transshipment, or shipped from a foreign 
country to any place in the United States and carried to 
such place from a port of entry either in the United States- 
or an adjacent foreign countrY^- Dromdedj fw wever,- That 



“ The term ‘common carrier’ as used in this Act sliall 
include express companies and sleeping-car companies. 
The term ‘railroad’ as used in this Act shall include all 
bridges and ferries used or operated in connection with any 
railroad, and also all the road in use by any corporation 
operating a railroad, whether owned or operated under a 
contract, agreement, or lease, and shall also include all 
switches, spurs, tracks, and terminal facilities of every 
kind used or necessary in the transportation of the per¬ 
sons or property designated herein, and also all freight 
depots, yards, and grounds used or necessary in the trans¬ 
portation or delivery of any of said property; and the term 




RAILROAD BILL. 


119 


4 transportation 7 shall include cars and other vehicles and 
all instrumentalities and facilities of shipment or carriage, 
irrespective of ownership or of any contract, express or 
implied, for the use thereof and all services in connection 
with the receipt, delivery, elevation, and transfer in tran¬ 
sit, ventilation, refrigeration or icing, storage, and han¬ 
dling of property transported; and it shall be the duty of 
every carrier subject to the provisions of this Act to pro¬ 
vide and furnish such transportation upon reasonable re¬ 
quest therefor, and to establish through routes and just 
and reasonable rates applicable thereto; and to provide 
reasonable facilities for operating such through routes , 
and to exchange, interchange, and return cars used therein , 
and to make reasonable rules and regulations with respect 
thereto and for operation of such through routes, and pro¬ 
viding for reasonable compensation to those entitled thereto, 
for the use of, injury to, destruction or loss of any of such 
cars on the line of any carrier operating a part of such 
through or joint routes . 

4 4 All charges made for any service rendered or to be 
rendered in the transportation of passengers or property 
as aforesaid, or in connection therewith, shall be just and 
reasonable; and every unjust and unreasonable charge for 
such service or any part thereof is prohibited and de¬ 
clared to be unlawful. 

And it is hereby made the duty of all common carriers 
subject to the provisions of this Act to establish, observe , 
and enforce just and reasonable classifications of prop¬ 
erty for transportation, with reference to which rates, 
tariffs, regulations, or practices are or may be made or 
prescribed, and just and reasonable regulations and prac¬ 
tices affecting classifications, rates, or tariffs, the issuance, 
form, and substance of tickets, receipts, and bills of lading, 
the manner and method of presenting, marking, packing, 


120 


RAILROAD RILL. 


and delivering property for transportation , the facilities 
for transportation, the carrying of personal, sample, and 
excess baggage, and all other matters relating to or con¬ 
nected with the receiving, handling, transporting, storing, 
and delivery of property subject to the provisions of this 
Act which may be necessary or convenient to secure the 
safe and prompt receipt, handling, transportation, and 
delivery of property subject to the provisions of this Act 
upon just and reasonable terms, and every unjust and un¬ 
reasonable classification, regulation, and practice is pro¬ 
hibited and declared to be unlawful. 

“No common carrier subject to the provisions of this 
Act shall, after January first, nineteen hundred and seven, 
directly or indirectly, issue or give any interstate free 
ticket, free pass, or free transportation for passengers, 
except to its employees and their families, its officers, 
agents, surgeons, physicians, and attorneys at law; to 
ministers of religion, traveling secretaries of railroad 
Young Men’s Christian Associations, inmates of hospitals 
and charitable and eleemosynary institutions, and persons 
exclusively engaged in charitable and eleemosynary work; 
to indigent, destitute, and homeless persons, and to such 
persons when transported by charitable societies or hos¬ 
pitals, and the necessary agents employed in such trans¬ 
portation; to inmates of the National Homes or State 
Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, and of Soldiers’ 
and Sailors’ Homes, including those about to enter and 
those returning home after discharge, and boards of man¬ 
agers of such homes; to necessary care takers of live 
stock, poultry, milk , and fruit; to employees on sleep¬ 
ing cars, express cars, and to linemen of telegraph and 
telephone companies; to Railway Mail Service empbyees, 
post-office inspectors, customs inspectors, and immigra¬ 
tion inspectors; to newsboys on trains, baggage agents, 


RAILROAD BILL. 


121 


witnesses attending any legal investigation in which the 
common carrier is interested, persons injured in wrecks 
and physicians and nurses attending such persons: Pro¬ 
vided , That this provision shall not be construed to pro¬ 
hibit the interchange of passes for the officers, agents, and 
employees of common carriers, and their families; nor to 
prohibit any common carrier from carrying passengers 
free with the object of providing relief in cases of general 
epicfemic, pestilence, or other calamitous visitation : Pro¬ 
vided further , That the term ‘employees’ as used in this 
paragraph shall include furloughed, pensioned, and super¬ 
annuated employees, persons who have become disabled 
or infirm in the service of any such common carrier, and 
the remains of a person killed in the employment of a 
carrier and ex-employees traveling for the purpose of 
entering the service of any such common carrier; and the 
term ‘families’ as used in this paragraph shall include 
the families of those persons named in this proviso, also 
the families of persons killed while in the service of any 
such common carrier. Any common carrier violating 
this provision shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, 
and for each offense, on conviction, shall pay to the 
United States a penalty of not less than one hundred 
dollars nor more than two thousand dollars, and any per¬ 
son, other than the persons excepted in this provision, 
who uses any such interstate free ticket, free pass, or free 
transportation, shall be subject to a like penalty. Juris¬ 
diction of offenses under this provision shall be the same 
as that provided for offenses in an Act entitled ‘An Act 
to further regulate commerce with foreign nations and 
among the States,’ approved February nineteenth, nine¬ 
teen hundred and three, and any amendment thereof. 

“ From and after May first, nineteen hundred and eight, 
it shall be unlawful for any railroad company to transport 
from any State, Territory, or the District of Columbia, to 


122 


RAILROAD BILL. 


any other State, Territory, or the District of Columbia, or 
to any foreign country, any article or commodity, other 
than timber and the manufactured products thereof, manu¬ 
factured, mined, or produced by it, or under its authority, 
or which it may own in whole, or in part, or in which it 
may have any interest, direct or indirect, except such 
articles or commodities as may be necessary and intended 
for its use in the conduct of its business as a common 
carrier. 

“ Any common carrier subject to the provisions of this 
Act, upon application of any lateral, branch line of rail¬ 
road, or of any shipper tendering interstate traffic for 
transportation, shall construct, maintain, and operate 
upon reasonable terms a switch connection with any 
such lateral, branch line of railroad, or private side track 
which may be constructed to connect with its railroad, 
where such connection is reasonably practicable and can 
be put in with safety and will furnish sufficient business 
to justify the construction and maintenance of the same; 
and shall furnish cars for the movement of such traffic to 
the best of its ability without discrimination in favor of or 
against any such shipper. If any common carrier shall 
fail to install and operate any such switch or connection 
as aforesaid, on application therefor in writing by any 
shipper or owner of such lateral , branch line of railroad , 
such shipper or owner of such lateral , branch line of rail¬ 
road may make complaint to the commission, as provided 
in section thirteen of this Act, and the commission shall 
hear and investigate the same and shall determine as to 
the safety and practicability thereof and justification and 
reasonable compensation therefor, and the commission 
may make an order, as provided in section fifteen of this 
Act, directing the common carrier to comply with the 
provisions of this section in accordance with such order, 


RAILROAD BILL. 


123 


and such order shall be enforced as hereinafter provided 
for the enforcement of all other orders by the commission, 
other than orders for the payment of money.” 

Sec. 6b. That section four of said Act to regulate com¬ 
merce be amended so as to read as follows: 

“ Sec. 4. That it shall be unlawful for any common 
carrier subject to the provisions of this Act to charge or 
receive any greater compensation in the aggregate for the 
transportation of passengers, or of like kind of property, 


for a shorter than for a longer distance over the same line 
or route in the same direction, the shorter being included 
within the longer distance, or to charge any greater com¬ 
pensation as a through route than the aggregate of the local 
rates; but this shall not be construed as authorizing any 
common carrier within the terms of this Act to charge 
and or receive as great compensation for a shorter as for a 
longer distance: Provided, however , That upon applica¬ 
tion to the Interstate Commerce Commission appointed 
a nder - 1he -p r ovisioas-of■-dds-Aet- such common carrier 
may in special cases, after investigation, by-tke-eemnds- 
siea be authorized by the commission to charge less for 
longer than for shorter distances for the transportation of 
passengers or property; and the commission may from 
time to time prescribe the extent to which such designated 
common carrier may be relieved from the operation of this 
section o f this Ae t: Provided further , That no rates or 
charges lawfully existing at the time of the passage of this 
amendatory Act shall be required to be changed by reason 
of the provisions of this section prior to the expiration of 
six months after the passage of this Act, nor in any case 
where application shall have been filed before the commis¬ 
sion, in accordance with the provisions of this section, until 
a determination of such application by the commission 



124 


RAILROAD BILL. 


Sec. 7. That section five of said Act to regulate com¬ 
merce, as heretofore amended, is hereby now amended so 
as to read as follows: 

“Agreements between common carriers subject to this 
Act specifying the classifications of freight and the rates, 
fares, and charges for transportation of passengers and 
freight which they agree to establish, shall not be unlawful 
under this Act as amended or under the Act approved July 
second, eighteen hundred and ninety, entitled ‘An Act to 
protect trade and commerce against unlawful restraints 
and monopolies f or otherwise if a copy of such agreement 
in such form and in such detail as the commission may 
prescribe is filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission 
within twenty days after it is made, and before or when 
any schedule of any rate, fare, or charge, or any classifi¬ 
cation made pursuant to the agreement is filed *with the 
commission; but all provisions of this Act, as amended, 
and any future amendments thereof shall apply to such 
agreed rates, fares, and charges, and such agreed classi¬ 
fications, and the Interstate Commerce Commission shall 
have like control over and power of action concerning any 
agreed rate, fare, charge, or classification, including sus¬ 
pension of the rate or classification before it becomes effect¬ 
ive, and pending investigation of its propriety, as if the 
rate, fare, charge, or classification had been made without 
agreement, and any party to such agreement may cancel 
it as to all or any of the agreed rates, fares, charges, or 
classifications, by thirty days' 1 notice in writing to the 
other parties and to the Interstate Commerce Commission, 
and such agreement of carriers, though filed with the com¬ 
mission, shall not be deemed a tariff or schedide of rates, 
fares, or charges collectible from the public, or operate 
itself to alter any such tariff or schedule whensoever filed 
and published Th&t But it shall be unlawful for any 



RAILROAD BILL. 


125 


common carrier subject to the provisions of this Act to 
enter into any contract, agreement, or combination with 
any other common carrier or carriers for the pooling of 
freights traffic of different and competing railroads, or to 
divide between them the aggregate or net proceeds of 
the earnings of such railroads, or any portion thereof; and 
in any case of an agreement for the pooling of freights 
traffic as aforesaid, each day of its continuance shall be 
deemed a separate offense. 

Sec . 8. That section six of said Act to regulate com¬ 
merce, as heretofore amended, is hereby note amended by 
adding three new paragraphs at the end thereof, as follows: 

“In case of failure or refusal on the part of any car¬ 
rier, receiver, or trustee to comply with the terms of any 
regulation adopted and promulgated or any order made 
by the commission under the provisions of this section, 
such carrier, receiver, or trustee shall be liable to a penalty 
of five hundred dollars for each such offense, and twenty- 
five dollars for each and every day of the continuance of 
such offense, which shall accrue to the United States and 
may be recovered in a civil action brought by the United 
States.” 

“If any common carrier subject to this Act, after writ¬ 
ten request made upon the agent of such carrier herein¬ 
after in this section referred to by any person or company 
for a written statement of the rate or charge applicable to 
a described shipment between stated places under the 
schedules or tariffs to which such carrier is a party, shall 
refuse or omit to give such written statement within a 
reasonable time, or shall misstate in writing the applicable 
rate, and if the person or company making such request 
suffers damage in consequence of such refusal or omission 
or in consequence of the misstatement of the rate, either 
through making the shipment over a line or route for which 


126 


RAILROAD BILL. 


the proper rate is higher than the rate over another avail¬ 
able line or route , or through entering into any sale or other 
contract whereunder such person or company obligates 
himself or itself to make such shipment of freight at his 
or its cost , then the said carrier shall be liable to a penalty 
of two hundred and fifty dollars , which shall accrue to 
the United States and may be recovered in a civil action 
brought by the United States 

“It shall be the duty of every such common carrier to 
keep at all times conspicuously posted in every station 
where freight is received for transportation the name of an 
agent resident in the city , village , or town where such sta¬ 
tion is located , to whom application may be made for the 
information by this section required to be furnished on 
written request; and in case any carrier shall fail at any 
time to have such name so posted in any station , it shall be 
sufficient to address such request in substantially the fol¬ 
lowing form: ‘The Station Agent of the - Com¬ 
pany at --— Stationtogether with the name of the 

proper post-office , inserting the name of the carrier com¬ 
pany and of the station in the blanks , and to serve the same 
by depositing the request so addressed , with postage thereon 
prepaid , in any post-office .’ ’ 

Sec. 8a. That section ten of said Act to regulate com¬ 
merce , as heretofore amended , be now amended so as to 
read as follows: 

“ Sec. 10. That any common carrier subject to the pro¬ 
visions of this Act, or, whenever such common carrier is 
a corporation, any director or officer thereof, or any 
receiver, trustee, lessee, agent, or person acting for or 
employed by such corporation, who, alone or with any 
other corporation, company, person, or party, shall will¬ 
fully do or cause to be done, or shall willingly suffer or 
permit to be done, any act, matter, or thing in this Act 





RAILROAD BILL. 


127 


prohibited or declared to be unlawful, or who shall aid 
or abet therein, or shall willfully omit or fail to do any 
act, matter, or thing in this Act required to be done, or 
shall cause or willingly suffer or permit any act, matter, 
or thing so directed or required by this Act to be done not 
to be so done, or shall aid or abet any such omission or 
failure, or shall be guilty of any infraction of this Act, 
or shall aid or abet therein, shall be deemed guilty of a 
misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction thereof in any 
district court of the United States within the jurisdic¬ 
tion of which such offense was committed, be subject to 
a fine of not to exceed five thousand dollars for each 
offense: Provided , That if the offense for which any 
person shall be convicted as aforesaid shall be an unlaw¬ 
ful discrimination in rates, fares, or charges for the trans¬ 
portation of passengers or property, such person shall, in 
addition to the fine hereinbefore provided for, be liable 
to imprisonment in the penitentiary for a term of not 
exceeding two years, or both such fine and imprisonment, 
in the discretion of the court. 

“Any common carrier subject to the provisions of this 
Act, or, whenever such common carrier is a corporation, 
any officer or agent thereof, or any person acting for or 
employed by such corporation, who, by means of false bill¬ 
ing, false classification, false weighing, or false report of 
weight, or by any other device or means, shall knowingly 
and willfully assist, or shall willingly suffer or permit, any 
person or persons to obtain transportation for property at 
less than the regular rates then established and in force on 
the line of transportation of such common carrier, shall be 
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, upon convic¬ 
tion thereof in any court of the United States of competent 
jurisdiction within the district in which such offense was 


128 


RAILROAD BILL. 


committed, be subject to a fine of not exceeding five thou¬ 
sand dollars, or imprisonment in the penitentiary for a term 
of not exceeding two years, or both, in the discretion of the 


court, for each offense. 

“ Any person \ 

o r-c o m p a ny, corporation, or company, or any agent or 
officer thereof, who shall deliver property for transporta¬ 
tion to any common carrier subject to the provisions of this 
Act, or for whom, as consignor or consignee, any such car¬ 
rier shall transport property, who shall knowingly and 
willfully, directly or indirectly, himself or by employee , 
agent, officer, or otherwise, by false billing, false classifica¬ 
tion, false weighing, false representation of the contents 
of the package or the substance of the property, false report 
of weight, false statement, or by any other device or means, 
whether with or without the consent or connivance of the 
carrier, its agent o r-ag ents, or officer, obtain transporta¬ 
tion for such property at less than the regular rates then 
established and in force on the line of transportation, or 
who shall knowingly and willfully, directly or indirectly, 
himself or by employee, agent, officer, or otherwise, by false 
statement or representation as to cost, value, nature, or 
extent of injury, or by the use of any false bill, bill of 
lading, receipt, voucher, roll, account, claim, certificate, 
affidavit, or deposition, knowing the same to be false , 
fictitious, or fraudulent, or to contain any false, fictitious, 
or fraudulent statement, or entry, obtain any allowance , 
refund, or payment for damage or otherwise in connection 
with or growing out of the transportation of or agreement to 
transport such property, whether with or without the con¬ 


sent or connivance of the carrier, whereby the compensa¬ 
tion of such carrier for such transportation, either before 
or after payment, shall in fact be made less than the regu- 


RAILROAD BILL. 


129 


lav rates then established and in force on the line of trans¬ 
portation, shall be deemed guilty of fraud, which is hereby 
declared to be a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction 
thereof in any court of the United States of competent 
jurisdiction within the district in which such offense was 
wholly or in part committed, be subject for each offense to 
a fine of not exceeding five thousand dollars or imprison¬ 
ment in the penitentiary for a term of not exceeding two 
years, or both, in the discretion of the court: Provided , 
That the penalty of imprisonment shall not apply to 
artificial persons . 

‘‘ If any such person, or any officer or agent of any such 
corporation or company, shall, by payment of money or 
other thing of value, solicitation, or otherwise, induce any 
common carrier subject to the provisions of this Act, or 
any of its officers or agents, to discriminate unjustly in his, 
its, or their favor as against any other consignor or con¬ 
signee in the transportation of property, or shall aid or 
abet any common carrier in any such unjust discrimination, 
such person or such officer or agent of such corporation or 
company shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and 
shall, upon conviction thereof in any court of the United 
States of competent jurisdiction within the district in 
which such offense was committed, be subject to a fine 
of not exceeding five thousand dollars, or imprisonment 
in the penitentiary for a term of not exceeding two years, 
or both, in the discretion of the court, for each offense; 
and such person, corporation, or company shall also, 
together with said common carrier, be liable, jointly or 
severally, in an action on--4 h e-ease to be brought by any 
consignor or consignee discriminated against in any court 
of the United States of competent jurisdiction for all 
damages caused by or resulting therefrom.’’ 

H. Rep. 923, 61-?-9 


130 


RAILROAD BILL. 


Sec. 8b. That section thirteen of said Act to regulate 
commerce be amended so as to read as follows: 

“Sec. 13. That any person, firm, corporation, com¬ 
pany , or association, or any mercantile, agricultural, or 
manufacturing society or other organization , or any body 
politic or municipal organization, or any common carrier, 
complaining of anything done or omitted to be done by 
any common carrier, subject to the provisions of this Act, in 
contravention of the provisions thereof, or relating in any 
way to the rates demanded, charged, or collected by any 
common carrier, subject to the provisions of this Act, for the 
transportation of persons or property, as defined in section 
one of this Act, or relating to or affecting any classification 
of property with reference to which such rates exist, or re¬ 
lating to or affecting any regulations or practices whatso¬ 
ever of such carrier, or of the failure of such carrier to 
establish, observe, and enforce just and reasonable classi¬ 
fications of property and just and reasonable regulations 
and practices, as required by section one of this Act, may 
apply to said commission by petition, which shall briefly 
state the facts; whereupon a statement of the c harge s 
complaint thus made shall be forwarded by the commission 
to such common carrier, who shall be called upon to satisfy 
the complaint, or to answer the same in writing, within 
a reasonable time, to be specified by the commission. If 
such common carrier within the time specified shall make 
reparation for the injury alleged to have been done, said: 
the common carrier shall be relieved of liability to the com¬ 
plainant only for the particular violation of law thus com¬ 
plained of. If such carrier or carriers shall not satisfy 
the complaint within the time specified, or there shall 
appear to be any reasonable ground for investigating said 
complaint, it shall be the duty of the commission to in- 



RAILROAD BILL. 


131 


vestigate the matters complained of in such manner and 
by such means as it shall deem proper. 

‘ 4 Said commission shall, in like manner and with the 
same authority and powers, investigate any complaint 
forwarded by the railroad commissioner or railroad com¬ 
mission of any State or Territory at the request of such 



Interstate Commerce Coynmission shall have full authority 
and power at any time to institute an inquiry, on its own 
motion, in any case and as to any matter or thing con - 
cerning which a complaint is authorized to be made, to or 
before said commission by any provision of this Act, or 
concerning which any question may arise under any of 
the provisions of this Act, or relating to the enforcement 
of any of the provisions of this Act, by any common car¬ 
rier, subject to its provisions or the enforcement of any 
authority granted by this Act to the said commission . 
And the said commission shall have the same powers and 
authority to proceed with any inquiry instituted on its own 
motion as though it had been appealed to by complaint or 
petition under any of the provisions of this Act, including 
the power to make and enforce any order or orders in the 
case, or relating to the matter or thing concerning which 
the inquiry is had. No complaint shall at any time be 
dismissed because of the absence of direct damage to the 
complainant/’ 

Sec. 9. That section fifteen of said Act to regulate 
commerce, as heretofore amended, is hereby now amended 
so as to read as follows: 



Sec. 15. That 


a 


whenever, after full hear¬ 



ing upon a complaint made as provided in section thirteen 


132 


RAILROAD BILL. 


of this Act, 



*7 or 


after full hearing under an order for investigation and 
hearing made by the commission on its own initiative 
(either in extension of any pending complaint or without 
any complaint whatever ), the commission it shall be of the 
opinion that any of the individual or joint rates or charges 
whatsoever demanded, charged, or collected by any com¬ 
mon carrier or carriers subject to the provisions of this Act 
for the transportation of persons or property as defined in 
the first section of this Act, or that any individual or joint 
classifications , regulations, or practices whatsoever of such 
carrier or carriers aff ecti ng s ueh- ra ies are unjust or un¬ 
reasonable or unjustly discriminatory, or unduly prefer¬ 
ential or prejudicial, or otherwise in violation of any of the 
provisions of this Act, the commission is hereby authorized 
and empowered to determine and prescribe what will be 
the just and reasonable individual or joint rate or rates, 
charge or charges, to be thereafter observed in such case as 
the maximum to be charged, and what individual or joint 
classification , regulation, or practice 




is just, fair, and reasonable, to be thereafter 


followed, and to make an order that the carrier or carriers 
shall cease and desist from such violation to the extent to 
which the commission finds the same to exist, and shall 
not thereafter publish, demand, or collect any rate or 
charge for such transportation in excess of the maximum 
rate or charge so prescribed, and shall adopt the classifi¬ 
cation and shall conform to and establish , observe , and en¬ 
force the regulation or practice so prescribed. And where 
the action of the commission is with respect to terminal , 
switching , icing , storage , elevation , or other special 
charges , which are only made when the through rate for 
the transportation is also imposed , and such special 
charges become part of the aggregate of charges for the 



RAILROAD BILL. 


133 


entire service, the commission may consider such special 
charges separately or in connection with the total charges 
or rates and prescribe the maximum rates and charges 
which in the aggregate or separately are just and reason¬ 
able. 

“ All orders of the commission, except orders for the 
payment of money, shall take effect within such reason¬ 
able time, not less than thirty days, and shall continue 
in force for such period of time, not exceeding two years, 
as shall be prescribed in the order of the commission, 
unless the same shall be suspended or modified or set aside 
by the commission, or be suspended or set aside by a court 
of competent jurisdiction. Whenever the carrier or 
carriers, in obedience to such order of the commission or 
otherwise, in respect to joint rates, fares, or charges, shall 
fail to agree among themselves upon the apportionment 
or division thereof the commission may, after hearing, 
make a supplemental order prescribing the just and rea¬ 
sonable proportion of such joint rate to be received by 
each carrier party thereto, which order shall take effect 
as a part of the original order. 

“ Whenever there shall be filed with the commission any 
schedule stating a new individual or joint rate, fare, or 
charge, or any neiv individual or joint classification, or 
any new individual or joint regulation or practice, the 
commission shall have, and it is hereby given , authority, 
either upon complaint or upon its own initiative without 
complaint, at once , and if it so orders, without answer 
or other formal pleading by the interested carrier or car¬ 
riers, but upon reasonable notice, to enter upon a hearing 
concerning the propriety of such rate, fare, charge, classi¬ 
fication, regulation , or practice; and pending such hearing 
and the decision thereon the commission upon filing with 
such schedule and delivering to the carrier or carriers 


134 


RAILROAD BILL. 


affected thereby a statement in writing of its reasons for 
such suspension may suspend the operation of such schedule 
and defer the use of such rate, fare, charge, classification, 
regulation, or practice, wo£ /or a longer period than 

one hundred and twenty days beyond the time when such 
rate, fare, charge, classification, regulation, or practice 
would otherwise go into effect; and after full hearing, 
whether completed before or after the rate, /are, charge, 
classification, regulation, or practice goes into effect, the 
commission may make such order in reference to such 
rate, fare, charge, classification, regulation, or practice 
as would be proper in a proceeding initiated after the 
rate, fare, charge, classification, regulation, or practice 
had become effective. 

“The commission may also, after hearing, on a com¬ 
plaint or upon its own initiative without complaint, estab¬ 
lish through routes and joint classifications, and. may 
establish joint rates as the maximum to be charged and 
may prescribe the division of such rates as hereinbefore 
provided and the terms and conditions under which such 
through routes -shall be operated, 



whenever the carriers eemplained-ef themselves shall have 
refused or neglected to establish voluntarily es-tafelish 
such through routes or joint classifications and or joint 

exi s ts - and this provision shall apply when one of the con¬ 
necting carriers is a water line. But this Act shall not 
be construed to affect traffic originating and ending on 
the line of any water carrier and transported wholly by 
water and shall not be held to affect the limitation of lia¬ 
bility of water carriers as now provided by law. The 
commission shall not, however, establish any through 
route, classification, or rate between street electric passen- 



RAILROAD BILL. 


135 


ger railways not engaged in the general business of trans¬ 
porting freight in addition to their passenger business and 
railroads of a different character. 

* In all cases where at the time of delivery of property 
to any railroad corporation being a common carrier, for 
transportation subject to the provisions of this Act to any 
point of destination, between which and the point of such 
delivery for shipment there are two or more through routes, 
the person, firm, or corporation making such shipment, 
subject to such reasonable exceptions and regulations as 
the Interstate Commerce Commission shall from time to 
time prescribe, shall have the right to designate in writing 
by which of such through routes such property shall be 
transported to destination, and it shall thereupon be the 
duty of the initial carrier to route said property and issue 
a through bill of lading therefor as so directed, and to 
transport said property over its own line or lines and 
deliver the same to a connecting line or lines according 
to such through route, and it shall be the duty of each of 
said connecting carriers to receive said property and 
transport it over the said line or lines and deliver the same 
to the next succeeding carrier or consignee according to 
such routing instructions. 

“If the owner of property transported under this Act 
directly or indirectly renders any service connected with 
such transportation, or furnishes any instrumentality used 
therein, the charge and allowance therefor shall be no 
more than is just and reasonable, and the commission 
may, after hearing on a complaint or on its own initiative, 
determine what is a reasonable charge as the maximum to 
be paid by the carrier or carriers for the services so rendered 
or for the use of the instrumentality so furnished, and fix 
the same by appropriate order, which order shall have the 


136 


RAILROAD BILL. 


same force and effect and be enforced in like manner as 
the orders above provided for in under this section. 

“ The foregoing enumeration of powers shall not exclude 
any power which the commission would otherwise have in 
the making of an order under the provisions of this Act. ’ 9 

Sec. 10. That section sixteen of said Act to regulate 
commerce , as heretofore amended , is hereby now amended , 
so as to read as follows: 

“Sec. 16. That if, after hearing on a complaint made 
as provided in section thirteen of this Act, the commission 
shall determine that any party complainant is entitled to 
an award of damages under the provisions of this Act for a 
violation thereof, the commission shall make an order 
directing the carrier to pay to the complainant the sum to 
which he is entitled on or before a day named. 

“ If a carrier does not comply with an order for the pay¬ 
ment of money within the time limit in such order, the 
complainant, or any person for whose benefit such order 
was made, may file in the circuit court of the United 
States for the district in which he resides or in which is 
located the principal operating office of the carrier, or 
through which the road of the carrier runs, a petition 
setting forth briefly the causes for which he claims dam¬ 
ages, and the order of the commission in the premises. 
Such suit shall proceed in all respects like other civil suits 
for damages, except that on the trial of such suit the find¬ 
ings and order of the commission shall be prima facie 
evidence of the facts therein stated, and except that the 
petitioner shall not be liable for costs in the circuit court 
nor for costs at any subsequent stage of the proceedings 
unless they accrue upon his appeal. If the petitioner 
shall finally prevail he shall be allowed a reasonable 
attorney's fee, to be taxed and collected as a part of the 
costs of the suit. All complaints for the recovery of dam- 



RAILROAD BILL. 


137 


ages shall be filed with the commission within two years 
from the time the cause of action accrues, and not after, 
and a petition for the enforcement of an order for the 
payment of money shall be filed in the circuit court within 
one year from the date of the order, and not after: Pro¬ 
vided, That claims accrued prior to the passage of this 
Act may be presented within one year. 

“ In such suits all parties in whose favor the commission 
may have made an award for damages by a single order 
may be joined as plaintiffs, and all of the carriers parties to 
such order awarding such damages may be joined as 
defendants, and such suit may be maintained by such 
joint plaintiffs and against such joint defendants in any 
district where any one of such joint plaintiffs could 
maintain such suit against any one of such joint defend¬ 
ants; and service of process against any one of such de¬ 
fendants as may not be found in the district where the suit 
is brought ltiay be made in any district where such de¬ 
fendant carrier has its principal operating office. In case 
of such joint suit the recovery, if any, may be by judgment 
in favor of any one of such plaintiffs, against the defendant 
found to be liable to such plaintiff. 

“Every order of the commission shall be forthwith 
served by mailing to any one of the principal officers or 
agents of the carrier at his usual place of business a copy 
thereof; and the registry mail receipt shall be prima facie 
evidence of the receipt of such order by the carrier in due 
course of mail. 

“The commission shall be authorized to suspend or 
modify its orders upon such notice and in such manner as 
it shall deem proper. 

“ It shall be the duty of every common carrier, its agents 
and employees, to observe and comply with such orders so 
long as the same shall remain in effect. 


138 


IiAILROAD BILL. 


“ Any carrier, any officer, representative, or agent of a 
carrier, or any receiver, trustee, lessee, or agent of either 
of them, who knowingly fails or neglects to obey any order 
made under the provisions of section fifteen of this Act 
shall forfeit to the United States the sum of five thousand 
dollars for each offense. Every distinct violation shall be 
a separate offense, and in case of a continuing violation 
each day shall be deemed a separate offense. 

“ The forfeiture provided for in this Act shall be pay¬ 
able into the Treasury of the United States, and shall be 
recoverable in a civil suit in the name of the United States, 
brought in the district where the carrier has its principal 
operating office, or in any district through which the road 
of the carrier runs. 

“It shall be the duty of the various district attorneys, 
under the direction of the Attorney-General of the United 
States, to prosecute for the recovery of forfeitures. The 
costs and expenses of such prosecution shall be paid out of 
the appropriation for the expenses of the courts of the 
United States. 


ney- Goneral,-employ --s peeial counsel in any - proceeding 



—4 f any carrier ■ foils or neglects to obey any ord e r - of 

the commis s ion, ■ - oth e r- t han-for -the payment ■ of - m oney? 

whil e the --s ame - i s- i - n --e ff e ct,-any - -par : t y-injin ed-t h e r e b y , - 

or-the- c ommi ssi on in its own-n a m e , - may apply —k o -t fa e 


pr incipal - op e ra t ing -offi ce- , --or-r n -wh i c h the violation or 

di s obedi e n ce-o f -s u c h - o r d e r s hall -ha ppen, for an -e nfor ee- 











RAILROAD BILL. 


139 



dionoo of the same, the court shall -enforce obedienc e-fo 



of - snob order, -of - t - o - enjoin - u p on it , - o f-t h e m, -obedi e n ee - feo 



m compellmg - o b cdionco to its writ -a-o f - kijunction an d 

mandam - m : 


“From any action upon -s ttefe -pe tition an appeal s h a ll 



carrior -s- has - k ^-^fitt oipal -op orating office, and-if - 4 he-oaf- 
ricr hao ita - p ritt oipal oporating -offi co in t - l - > e-- Dirdrie 4- of 









140 


RAILROAD BILL. 


hoar and det er min e - s n eh suits ia - hereby vested in au eh 

eo n rfa:—yphe provisions^ -- An-A et -to expedite - th e-hea r - 


approved February eleventh, nin e teen hundred and thr e e y 

shah he, and are, hereby, made applicable to all - su eh 

mi 


proceeding in equity to cnforce - any -or d er or requiremen t 



and criminal c auses. 










RAILROAD BILL. 


141 



“ The commission may employ such attorneys as it finds 
necessary for proper legal aid and service of the com- 
rnission or its members in the conduct of their work or for 
proper representation of the public interests in investiga¬ 
tions made by it or cases or proceedings pending before it, 
whether at the commission’s own instance or upon com¬ 
plaint; and the expenses of such employment shall be 
paid out of the appropriation for the commission . 

“If any carrier fails or neglects to obey any order of the 
commission other than for the payment of money, while the 
same is in effect, any party injured thereby, or the United 
States, by its Attorney- General, may apply to the com¬ 
merce court for enforcement of such order . If, after hear¬ 
ing, that couid determines that the order was regularly 
made and duly served, and that the carrier is in disobe¬ 
dience of the same, the court shall enforce obedience to 
such order by a writ of injunction or other proper process, 
mandatory or otherwise, to restrain such carrier, its offi¬ 
cers, agents, or representatives, from further disobedience 


142 


RAILROAD BILL. 


of such order, or to enjoin upon it or them obedience to the 
same. 

‘ ‘ The copies of schedules and classifications and tariff s 
of rates, fares, and charges, and of all contracts, agree¬ 
ments, and arrangements between common carriers filed 
with the commission as herein provided, and the statistics, 
tables, and figures contained in the annual or other reports 
of carriers made to the commission as required under the 
provisions of this Act, and certificates issued by the com¬ 
mission in accordance with any provision of law, shall be 
preserved as public records in the custody of the secretary 
of the commission, and shall be received as prima facie 
evidence of what they purport to be for the purpose of 
investigations by the commission and in all judicial pro¬ 
ceedings; and copies of and extracts from any of said 
schedules, classifications, tariffs, contracts, agreements, 
arrangements, reports, or certificates made public records 
as aforesaid certified by the secretary, under the commis¬ 
sion’s seal, shall be received in evidence with like effect as 
the originals 

Sec. 11. That section twenty of said Act to regulate 
commerce, as heretofore amended, is hereby amended by 
striking out the following paragraph: 

“Said do tailed report s s hall - contain - all the required 



imd e^-oa4h-and-fi l o d -w i4 h-fee commis s ion, - at its office in 

Washington; -- on -of- b e fe ye-fee-fei ^ ie fe -day-o ^Septembor 



any ease by the commi ss i o n ; -- and if an y e a - rrior, person, or 

eofpo f a t ie - n -sttbj- oot-to - tho - provisions of this Act shall fail 

te -ffi ftfce and file said - annnal - y -eperts-wi thm -- the t i m e above 









RAILROAD BILL. 


143 


apooifio an s wer to any qu es tion-authorized by the-pro- 



the Unit ed States the sum of one hun d red dollars for each 



within the time fixed bv the eommim e n - i t shall b e-s n b- 


And by adding inserting in lieu of the paragraph so 
stricken out the following: 

“Said detailed reports shall contain all the required 
statistics for the period of twelve months ending on the 
thirtieth day of June in each year, or on the thirty-first day 
of December in each year if the commission by order sub¬ 
stitute that period for the year ending June thirtieth, and 
shall be made out under oath and filed with the commission 

September then next following within three months after 
the close of the year for which the report is made, unless ad¬ 
ditional time be granted in any case by the commission; 
and if any carrier, person, or corporation subject to the pro¬ 
visions of this Act shall fail to make and file said annual 
reports within the time above specified, or within the time 
extended by the commission, for making and filing the 
same, or shall fail to make specific answer to any question 
authorized by the provisions of this section within thirty 
days from the time it is lawfully required so to do, such 
party shall forfeit to the United States the sum of one hun¬ 
dred dollars for each and every day it shall continue to be 
in default with respect thereto. The commission shall 
also have authority by general or special orders to require 





144 


RAILROAD BILL. 


said carriers, or any of them , to file monthly reports of 
earnings and expenses, and to file periodical or special, or 
both periodical and special , reports wdririn -a -s p eeiried 
period concerning any matters about which the commission 
is authorized or required by this or any other law to inquire 
or to keep itself inf or med or which it is required to enforce; 
and such periodical or special reports shall be under oath 
whenever the commission so requires; and if any such car¬ 
rier shall fail to make and file any such periodical or special 
report within the time fixed by the commission, it shall 
be subject to the forfeitures last above provided. ” 

Sec. 12. That no railroad corporation which is a com¬ 
mon carrier subject to the Act to regulate commerce, 
approved February fourth , eighteen hundred and eighty- 
seven , as amended , shall hereafter acquire , directly or 
indirectly , any interest of whatsoever kind in the capital 
stock of any railroad or water carrier corporation , or pur¬ 
chase or lease any railroad or water line which is directly 
and substantially competitive with that of such first- 
named corporation , nor shall any water carrier corpora¬ 
tion engaged in interstate commerce hereafter acquire , 
directly or indirectly , any interest of whatsoever kind in 
the capital stock of any railroad corporation , or purchase 
or lease any railroad that is subject to the Act to regulate 
commerce and which is directly and substantially competi¬ 
tive with such water line; nor shall any such railroad or 
water carrier corporation have after the first day of July , 
nineteen hundred and eleven , as an officer or a director any 
person who may also be at the same time an officer or di¬ 
rector of any such competing corporation; and any corpora¬ 
tion which acquires any interest in capital stock , or which 
purchases or leases a railroad or water line contrary to 
this section , or which holds or retains any interest in 
capital stock or in a railroad or water line hereafter 



RAILROAD BILL. 


145 


acquired in violation of this section, or which shall have 
and retain as an officer or director after the first day of 
July, nineteen hundred and eleven, any person who is also 
an officer or director of any such competing corporation, 
shall he fined five thousand dollars for each day or part of 
day during which it holds or retains such interest unlaw¬ 
fully acquired, or retains such prohibited officer or director . 

Any attempted acquisition of an interest in capital stock 
or the purchase or lease of a railroad or water line con¬ 
trary to this section shall he void, and may be enjoined hy 
any court of competent jurisdiction at the suit of the 
United States; and the holding or retention of any inter¬ 
est in capital stock or the acquisition of a railroad or 
water line contrary to this section may likewise he en¬ 
joined in any court of competent jurisdiction at the suit 
of the United States; hut any railroad or water carrier 
corporation, being a common carrier as aforesaid, which 
proposes to acquire any interest in the capital stock or to 
lease or purchase a railroad or water line of any other 
corporation may apply to the commerce court hy its peti¬ 
tion for that purpose, filed in advance of actual taking of 
such interest in capital stock or the acquisition of such 
railroad or water line, hut after an agreement or contract 
for its acquisition has been made with a stipulation therein 
that such agreement or contract shall take effect in case it 
is found hy the commerce court not to violate this section, 
for an adjudication as between such corporation and the 
United States, whether or not the proposed acquisition of 
an interest in the capital stock or the proposed purchase or 
lease of the railroad or water line of another corporation 
violates this section, and the adjudication of the commerce 
court upon such application shall have the ordinary effect 
of judgments as an estoppel between the parties . 

H. Rep. 923, 61-2-10 


146 


RAILROAD BILL. 


The commerce court is hereby given jurisdiction to hear 
and determine such applications and to take all proper 
proceedings thereon, and the filing of said petition shall be 
taken as a consent on the part of the corporation making 
the ^application that the commerce court issue at once an 
interlocutory injunction against the proposed acquisition 
pending final determination by the court concerning its 
legality hereunder . If the commerce court finally ad¬ 
judges the proposed transaction to be unlawful, it shall by 
its decree permanently enjoin the proposed acquisition . 
In case the United States shall have sued to restrain the 
proposed acquisition in a court other than the commerce 
court before the corporation proposing to make such ac¬ 
quisition files its petition as aforesaid in the commerce 
court, such suit of the United States shall be stayed pend¬ 
ing the decision of the commerce court if it has not yet pro¬ 
ceeded to final decree, and said suit of the United States 
shall be dismissed if the commerce court finally adjudges 
that the proposed acquisition does not violate this section: 
Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be con¬ 
strued to affect in any way any suit or action pending at 
the passage of this Act, nor the rights or liabilities of any 
party thereto, nor to authorize or validate the acquisition 
by a railroad corporation, being a common carrier subject 
to said Act to regulate commerce, as amended, of any in¬ 
terest in the capital stock, or the purchase or lease of the 
railroad or water line of any other railroad or water car¬ 
rier company, in violation of any Act of Congress, in¬ 
cluding the Act approved July second, eighteen hundred 
and ninety, entitled “An Act to protect trade and com¬ 
merce against unlaw fid restraints and monopolies 
And provided further, That the right to so apply to said 
commerce court shall not extend to any railroad corpora¬ 
tion now holding stock in any other railroad corporation 


RAILROAD BILL. 


147 


in violation of any Act of Congress , including the said 
Act approved July second , eighteen hundred and ninety , 
which holding is the subject or in any way involved in any 
suit or action pending at the date of the passage of this 
Act. 

Sec . 13. That a new section be added to said Act to 
regulate commerce , to be numbered as section twenty-five, 
as follows: 

“Sec. 25. That no railroad corporation which is a 
common carrier subject to the provisions of this Act as 
amended shall hereafter issue for any purpose connected 
with or relating to any part of its business governed by the 
provisions of this Act as amended any stock, bonds , notes , 
or other evidences of indebtedness to an amount exceeding 
that which may from, time to time be reasonably necessary 
for the purpose for which such issue of stock , bonds , notes , 
or other evidences of indebtedness may be authorized. 

“ The amount of said securities to be thus issued , except¬ 
ing notes maturing not more than two years from the date 
of their issue , shall be determined by the Interstate Com¬ 
merce Commission , and any sale of said securities shall 
be at a price not less than their reasonable value , which , 
excepting as to notes maturing not more than two years 
from the date of their issue, shall be ascertained and fixed 
by the commission. Said commission shall render a 
decision upon an application for such issue within thirty 
days after the final hearing thereon. Such decision shall 
be in writing , shall assign the reasons therefor , shall, if 
authorizing such issue , specify the respective amounts of 
stock , bonds , or notes or other evidences of indebtedness as 
aforesaid which are authorized to be issued for the respec¬ 
tive purposes to which the proceeds thereof are to be applied. 
A certificate of the decision of said commission shall , 
before the stock , bonds , or notes or other evidences of 


148 


RAILROAD BILL. 


indebtedness as aforesaid are issued , be delivered to the 
corporation . Such corporation shall not apply the pro¬ 
ceeds of such stock, bonds, or notes or other evidences of 
indebtedness as aforesaid to any purpose not specified in 
such certificate, and no property, services , or other thing 
than money shall be taken inpayment to the corporation of 
the required price of such stock , certificate of stock, bond , 
or other evidence of indebtedness , except at the fair value 
of such property , services , or other thing than money , 
which shall be ascertained by the Interstate Commerce 
Commission and stated in a certificate issued by it to such 
corporation, or to any person or persons intending to form 
such corporation , and recorded with the commission before 
the issue of said stock , certificate of stock, or evidence of 
indebtedness: Provided , That nothing herein contained 
shall be construed to prevent a corporation subject to this 
Act from issuing its stock , bonds , or other obligations to 
refund bonds or other obligations heretofore or hereafter 
issued and outstanding to an amount reasonably necessary 
for that purpose determined as hereinbefore provided . 

“ No railroad corporation subject to the provisions of 
this Act as amended shall hereafter , for any purpose 
connected with or relating to any part of its business gov¬ 
erned by this Act , issue any capital stock convertible into 
other capital stock of such railroad corporation unless by 
the terms of the certificate representing the stock so con¬ 
vertible the amount , par value , of capital stock that the 
holder of such certificate is entitled to receive in exchange 
therefor shall be equal to or less than the par value of the 
shares of stock represented by such certificate of convert¬ 
ible stock; but nothing contained in this Act shall be 
deemed to prohibit the issue by any such corporation of its 
capital stock in exchange for and, in accordance with the 


RAILROAD BILL. 


149 


terms of such convertible stock issued in accordance with 
the provisions of this paragraph. 

“ Nothing in this section contained shall be construed 
to prohibit the mortgage or pledge by any railroad cor¬ 
poration subject to the provisions of this Act as amended 
of any bond or other evidence of indebtedness issued by 
such railroad corporation as security for or as part security 
for any note , bond , or other evidence of indebtedness 
issued by or loan made to such railroad corporation which 
shall not be issued or made in violation of the provisions 
of this Act: Provided , That the terms of said loan and of 
such notes , bonds , or other evidences of indebtedness , if 
any, shall provide that none of said pledged bonds or other 
evidences of indebtedness shall , upon nonpayment of the 
notes , bonds , or other evidences of indebtedness which they 
are pledged to secure , or upon nonperformance of any of 
the conditions thereof , be sold or become the property of 
the holders of the notes , bonds , or other evidences of in¬ 
debtedness so secured , either directly or through a trustee 
for their benefit , except at or through public sale , notice 
whereof shall be published at least once a week for not less 
than three successive weeks prior thereto in at least one 
daily newspaper of general circulation published in the 
place where such sale shall take place: And provided 
further , That if such notes , bonds , or other evidences of 
indebtedness , if any, shall provide that the owners thereof 
shall have the right to convert the same into the bonds or 
other evidences of indebtedness so mortgaged or pledged , 
the Interstate Commerce Commission , previously to the 
making of such loan , shall have ascertained and stated , in 
a certificate issued by the commission to such corporation , 
or to any person or persons intending to organize such 
corporation and recorded with the commission or other¬ 
wise , as authorized by this Act , the reasonable market or 


150 


RAILROAD BILL. 


selling value of such bonds or other evidences of indebted¬ 
ness so mortgaged or pledged and the rate which said 
reasonable market or selling value bears to the reasonable 
market or selling value of such secured notes , bonds , or 
other evidences of indebtedness, and that such secured 
notes , bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness shall not 
provide that the owners thereof shall have the right , upon 
such conversion , to receive in exchange therefor bonds or 
other evidences of indebtedness so mortgaged or pledged 
to an amount greater than would be receivable at the rate 
so found and stated in such certificate of the commission. 

“ Nothing in this Act contained shall be taken to prohibit 
the issue of any bond or other evidence of indebtedness 
pursuant to the terms of any instrument heretofore exe¬ 
cuted , provided the same shall not be sold except in con¬ 
formity with the provisions of this section . 

“ Nothing in this Act contained shall in any way affect 
or impair the validity of any mortgage or pledge of any 
capital stock , certificate of stock , bond , or other evidence 
of indebtedness now mortgaged or pledged as security for 
or as part security for any loan heretofore made to any 
such corporation , or prohibit the sale , upon foreclosure or 
otherwise , of any such mortgaged or pledged stock , certifi¬ 
cate of stock , bonds , or other evidences of indebtedness 
upon the terms and conditions provided in the instrument , 
if any , whereunder such securities may have been pledged 
or in the contract of loan; and nothing in this section con¬ 
tained shall be construed in any way to prohibit or affect 
the issue of any capital stock or the delivery of any certifi¬ 
cate of stock, or the issue of any bond or other evidence of 
indebtedness in exchange for or to provide for the retire¬ 
ment of any capital stock , certificate of stock , bond , or 
other evidence of indebtedness now outstanding or pro¬ 
vided to be issued , or the pledge of the exchanged or retired 


RAILROAD BILL. 


151 


stock or securities on such terms and conditions as may be 
provided in the instruments whereunder any of the stocks, 
bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness referred to in 
this paragraph are respectively issued or authorized to be 
issued. * 9 

Sec. 14. That a new section be added to said Act to 
regulate commerce, to be numbered as section twenty-six, 
as follows: 

“ Sec. 26. That in case at any time it shall be proposed 
by or pursuant to any plan of reorganization of any rail¬ 
road corporation or corporations incorporated prior to 
January first, nineteen hundred and ten, the properties 
whereof shall be in the hands of a receiver or of receivers, 
or shall be subject to be sold in any suit or suits or other 
judicial proceedings for foreclosure of any mortgage or 
deed of trust heretofore executed, or for the dissolution or 
winding up of such corporation, or to procure the satis¬ 
faction of its debts or the application of its property thereto, 
pending at the time of such proposal, that any corporation 
utilized or to be utilized for the purposes of such reorgani¬ 
zation, which at such time shall be, or, when organized 
and operating, will be, subject to the provisions of this 
Act, as amended (every corporation so utilized or to be 
utilized being hereinafter referred to by the term 6 New 
corporation’), shall issue stock and bonds and other evi¬ 
dences of indebtedness, or any thereof, for any purpose 
connected with or relating to any part of its business gov¬ 
erned by this Act, as amended, application for any cer¬ 
tificate of the Interstate Commerce Commission that may 
be requisite under the provisions of this section may be 
made by any person, committee, or representatives of any 
committee, or by managers having in charge the formu¬ 
lating or carrying out of any such plan of reorganization, 
and such certificate may be issued to such person, com- 


152 


RAILROAD BILL. 


mittee , representatives , or managers for the use of the new 
corporation; and the issue pursuant to such plan of 
reorganization by any new corporation of stock , whether 
of a single class or of two or more classes , as may be 
authorized by law , to an amount in the aggregate not 
exceeding the fair estimated value of the property of 
the corporation or corporations so reorganized or to 
be reorganized , which shall be ascertained by the Inter¬ 
state Commerce Commission, and which aggregate amount 
shall be stated in a certificate issued by said commis¬ 
sion to such person , committee , representatives , or man¬ 
agers for the use of the new corporation , and in no 
case shall exceed the aggregate amount of the par 
value of the stocks of the corporation or corporations 
reorganized or to be reorganized; and the issue by 
any new corporation of bonds and other evidences 
of indebtedness , whether unsecured or secured by mortgage 
upon said properties or otherwise, to an aggregate amount 
not exceeding the amount of new money paid to the new 
corporation pursuant to such plan of reorganization , and 
the amounts of bonds and other obligations and debts , 
including receiver s liabilities, which at the time of such 
sale or sales may have constituted claims or charges , 
whether legal or equitable , upon or against the corporation 
or corporations so reorganized , or the properties thereof , 
and provision for the payment of which or the delivery of 
securities of the new corporation in exchange for ivhich 
shall be made in such plan shall not be deemed to be pro¬ 
hibited by anything contained in this Act: Provided , 
That the aggregate amount of interest charges agreed to 
be paid by the new corporation or to which its property will 
be subject shall not exceed the aggregate amount of the 
interest charges to which the corporation or corporations 
so reorganized or their properties shall have been subject; 


RAILROAD BILL. 


153 


and nothing in this Act shall be deemed to prohibit the 
new corporation from assuming any bonds, debts, or other 
obligations of the corporation or corporations so reorgan¬ 
ized in place of which it might, in accordance with the 
rules prescribed by this section, issue its own stocks, bonds, 
or other obligations . 

‘ k In case two or more railroad corporations subject to 
the provisions of this Act, as amended, shall be consolidated 
or merged pursuant to the laws of a State or States appli¬ 
cable thereto and such consolidation or merger shall consist 
in uniting the organizations, properties, businesses, and 
stocks of said corporations; and if the Interstate Com¬ 
merce Commission shall have ascertained and stated in a 
certificate issued by it to the corporations in respect to 
which such consolidation or merger is to take place or shall 
have taken place, or to one of them (or to any person, com¬ 
mittee, or representatives of any committee, or to managers 
having in charge the formulating or carrying out of any 
plan of reorganization such as is hereinbefore mentioned 
under which the corporation that is to issue new securities 
to be distributed under such plan will be a corporation 
resulting from any consolidation or consolidations, mer¬ 
ger or mergers), that the stock to be issued by such consoli¬ 
dated corporation and the bonds and other obligations, if 
any, to be assumed and issued thereby does not exceed the 
fair estimated value of the properties of such consolidated 
corporation, nothing in this Act contained shall be deemed 
to prohibit the issue of such stock and bo?ids and other obli¬ 
gations, or any of them, or the assumption of all or any of 
the bonds or other obligations of the corporations so consoli¬ 
dated or merged. 

“ Nothing in this Act contained shall prevent a rail¬ 
road corporation, subject to the provisions of this Act 
as amended, from acquiring the stock and bonds of another 


154 


RAILROAD BILL. 


railroad corporation, subject to said Act, which is not di¬ 
rectly and substantially competitive with that of such first- 
mentioned corporation , by the issue of its own stock and 
bonds , provided the aggregate amount of the par values of 
the stock and bonds so issued shall not exceed the fair 
value of the property of the corporation whose stock and 
bonds are so acquired , which value shall be ascertained 
by the Interstate Commerce Commission. 

“ But nothing herein contained shall be construed to 
authorize or to validate or permit the consolidation or 
merger in any manner of two or more corporations in 
violation of any Act of Congress , including the Act 
approved July second, eighteen hundred and ninety 
entitled 6 An Act to protect trade and commerce against 
unlawful restraints and monopolies 

Sec. 15. That a new section be added to said Act to 
regulate commerce , to be numbered as section twenty-seven , 
as follows: 

“ Sec. 27. That upon application for a certificate of the 
Interstate Commerce Commission, pursuant to the provi¬ 
sions of this Act , of which notice shall be served on the 
United States in like manner as is provided with respect to 
notices of hearings upon petition in accordance with the 
provisions of this Act , the commission shall hear and de¬ 
termine the matters as to which its certificate is desired , and 
may make proper rules and regulations concerning the 
manner of such application and the conduct of the hearing. 

“ Any director , officer , or stockholder of such corporation 
who knowingly and willfully assents to or concurs in any 
Issue of securities forbidden by the provisions of this Act 
shall be punished by a fine of not more than ten thousand 
dollars , or imprisonment not longer than three years , or 
both. 


RAILROAD BILL. 


155 


“ Nothing in this Act contained shall in any way affect 
or impair the validity of any such stock, certificates of stock, 
bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness in the hands of 
innocent holders for value.” 

Sec. 16. That nothing in this Act contained shall undo 
or impair any proceedings heretofore taken by or before 
the Interstate Commerce Commission or any of the acts of 
said commission; and in any cases, proceedings, or matters 
now pending before it, the commission may exercise any 
of the powers hereby conferred upon it, as would be proper 
in cases, proceedings, or matters hereafter initiated; and 
nothing in this Act contained shall operate to release or 
affect any obligation, liability, penalty, or forfeiture here¬ 
tofore existing against or incurred by any person, cor¬ 
poration, or association. 

Sec. 17. That this Act shall take effect and be in force 
from and after the expiration of sixty days after its passage. 





































































































. 






































VIEWS OF THE MINORITY. 


The minority members of the Interstate and Foreign Commerce 
Committee, whose names are hereto signed, are not in accord with the 
views of the majority of the committee in the favorable report on 
H. R. 17536, “To create an interstate commerce court and to amend 
an act entitled ‘An act to regulate commerce,’ approved February 4, 
1887, and heretofore amended, and for other purposes,” and our rea¬ 
sons therefor are as follows: 

In our opinion, the efficient enforcement and the honest acceptance 
by the railroads of the provisions of the Hepburn rate law since its 
passage in 1906, has substantially eliminated the vicious and harmful 
practices generally engaged in by railroads, prior to that date. This 
has brought great relief to the people. It was freely admitted on the 
protracted hearings before this committee, by able and experienced 
railroad men, as well as by representative men of the shippers of the 
country, that the Hepburn rate law was producing satisfactory results 
and that existing conditions did not require any amendment of the 
fundamental policy that the law was based on. In the nature of things, 
certain amendments become necessary to the laws regulating our vast 
system of railroads covering a mileage of quite 230,000 miles. There 
are amendments and certain provisions of the bill under consideration 
that are commendable, and we indorse, but they are not of that char¬ 
acter to induce us to support the bill which contains provisions that in 
principle we condemn and believe is not, in fact, to the best interest 
of the people and the carriers. 

No untried experimental legislation, of a doubtful constitutional 
character should be entered upon by Congress at this time, when 
neither consumers, shippers, nor railroads ask for or demand such 
legislation. We are opposed to striking out the proviso in section 1 
of the act to regulate commerce as amended, as follows: 

That the provisions of this act shall not apply to the transportation of property, 
or to the receiving, delivering, storage, or handling of property wholly within one 
State, and not shipped to or from a foreign country, from or to any State or Terri¬ 
tory, as aforesaid. 

We object to the amendment of section 5 of act of commerce as 
amended, by making it lawful for common carriers to establish by 
“agreement” a schedule of rates. This is a dangerous step in the 
direction of “pooling,” and indirectly and by implication repeals the 
important provisions of the Sherman antitrust law. 

We object to the provisions of section 3 of the bill that authorizes 
the commerce court to restrain or suspend the commission’s order 
“upon notice after hearing.” The length of notice should be speci¬ 
fied. It should be not less than five days. Section 16 of the present 
railroad law prohibited an injunction, interlocutory order, or decree 
suspending or restraining the enforcement of an order of the commis¬ 
sion to be granted, except on hearing and not less than five days’ 
notice to the commission. 


157 


158 


KAILBOAD BILL. 


The commerce court is provided for in the first six sections of the 
bill. It is to be exclusively a railroad court for the trial of the com¬ 
plaints of carriers seeking to annul, set aside, or modify the orders of 
the commission and provisions under the Elkins law. A special court, 
created to hear exclusively a certain class of railroad cases is not con¬ 
genial to or favored by the genius or policy of the judicial system of 
our country and ought not to be authorized by the Congress. It is 
undoubtedly true if certain provisions of this bill were eliminated the 
commerce court would be stripped largely of its proposed work. 

There is no necessity for this commerce court; and the testimony of 
two of the commissioners who appeared before the committee goes to 
clearty indicate that if the court is established it will be without suf¬ 
ficient business to occupy its time. If this is true, the court is a use¬ 
less and unwise extravagance. 

We have heard no complaint made of the present system about the 
orders of the commerce commission being submitted to the circuit 
courts as now organized. Such proceedings differ from the ordinary 
appeal as provided by the law in other cases, for the judgment of the 
revising judge is in no manner substituted for that of the commission. 
It is true that the advocates for the commerce court urge that such a 
court will “expedite” railroad cases and make “uniform” the decisions 
on railroad subjects. How does the expedition take place in the com 
merce court any more than in the circuit court? The evidence will 
have to be taken by or under the direction of the commerce court, as 
it is done in the circuit court, which is by the appointment of a master 
in chancery. The delay in preparing the evidence will be just the 
same in the commerce court as it now is in the circuit court, because 
it will be taken in the same manner. The complaint heretofore about 
delay has been in connection with the taking of evidence, and not with 
the dispatch of the business b}^ the judge. 

We all recognize the fact that the Supreme Court of the United 
States is the only court in this country that has the power to give uni¬ 
formity to the decisions of the inferior federal courts. It will perform 
this service for the commerce court just as it has been doing since the 
establishment of our Government for the circuit court. The commerce 
court tends, as we apprehend, to give broader jurisdiction over the 
orders of the commission. The strength of the claim of the people 
for good service and an equal and'fair rate from the carriers depends 
upon the latitude that the law gives to the judgment of the commission 
in declaring a rate. ' 

We object to the fourth and fifth sections of the bill because they 
practically transfer the important and essential work of the Interstate 
Commerce Commission to the Department of Justice. The commission 
is now, and was intended to be from its organization, an independent 
tribunal of the rights of the people and the carriers. The Department of 
Justice is a political department of this Government, and its appointees 
who direct the policies of the department are the representatives and 
the supporters of the present political administration of the county. 
If this bill should become a law, a suit instead of being against the 
commision must be against “The United States,” and the Attorney- 
General and his subalterans take exclusive charge of the case that was 
heard, considered, and defended in the commission by its able and 
experienced lawyers. 


RAILROAD BILL. 


159 


If the Attornev-General should be led to believe that the commis¬ 
sion had made any kind of a mistake in the order made fixing a rea¬ 
sonable rate, then the Attorney-General could direct the abandonment 
of the case. There will necessarily hereafter be less use for such a 
court as the commerce court than ever before, for the reason that the 
Supreme Court of the United States, in the recent decision of Inter¬ 
state Commerce Commission v. Illinois Central ltailroad, decided Jan¬ 
uary 10,1910, has limited the jurisdiction of the courts over the orders 
of the commission down to two plain, simple questions: Has the com¬ 
mission followed the procedure required by law ? and, next, Does the 
proceedings on their face show T that the enforcement of the order of 
the commission would violate constitutional property rights? How 
is it possible for the commerce court to pass on such legal questions 
with more ability, uniformity, or expedition than our circuit courts? 
It is claimed that the commerce court will give us 4 "expert judges.” 

Common observation leads us to believ^that the most strenuous dif¬ 
ferences of opinion occur among 44 learned experts” in all the prac¬ 
tical business affairs of life. We prefer the 44 all-round judge,” ready 
to learnedly and fairly apply the principles of justice to all classes of 
cases and litigants as they come before him. But what are the pro¬ 
visions of the bill as to securing these experts? The President of the 
United States is requested to appoint live new federal judges, and 
these new federal judges are each, respectively, to be appointed in the 
first instance for terms of one, two, three, four, and five years, and as 
each one’s term expires he is ordered elsewhere and the Chief Justice 
of the Supreme Court of the United States designates one of the regu¬ 
lar circuit judges to take the place, and we ask, Why such a procedure? 

We object most earnestly to sections 12, 13, and 14 as now num¬ 
bered in the bill, relating to the acquisition by one railroad company of 
capital stock in another railroad company and the issuance for any pur¬ 
pose of any stocks or bonds by carriers; and one of the important ques¬ 
tions is whether the capital stock so purchased belonged to a com¬ 
petitor or not. This question is submitted by the bill to the judicial 
interpretation of the commerce court when what is a 44 competitive ” 
line is preeminently a question of fact. We are opposed to allowing 
the commerce court to permit competing lines to acquire each other. 

The issuance of all stocks and bonds is forbidden, except under the 
supervision of the commerce court. Mergers, reorganization, and 
consolidation of railroads are forbidden on conditions involving the 
most complicated, intricate, and untried scheme of legislation that 
Congress has ever been invited to enter upon. Its constitutionality is 
certainly of a doubtful character, and not yet passed upon by the 
Supreme Court. The regulation of the exchange of capital stock 
belonging to a carrier can not be considered interstate commerce. It 
is that class of legislation that we believe invades the individual and 
personal rights of the citizen, also the artificial corporation by declar- 
ing b}^ a law when he can sell his property, when he shall buy prop¬ 
erty, and for what price he shall buy and sell his property, wholly 
disconnected with the regulation of interstate commerce. 

We are earnest advocates of federal regulation or supervision of 
interstate railroads, but we do not believe that 44 regulation” by the 
Federal Government can lawfully invade the business management 
and take charge of the operation of intrastate railroads. We believe 
that it is wrong whenever and wherever Congress goes beyond its 


160 


RAILROAD BILL. 


proper field for the prevention of unreasonable charges and undue dis¬ 
criminations; that it is not lawful, for such a policy denies to the rail¬ 
roads the protection given to other property in other forms. This 
proposed legislation for the regulation of stocks and bonds certainly 
tends to restrict investment by impairment of credit and discouraging 
new railroad enterprises, and will retard the enlargement of trans¬ 
portation facilities which the country so demands. 

Even outside of that view, the inauguration of such a policy appli¬ 
cable to the regulation of our railroads, certainly will discourage the 
construction of new and independent lines of railroad, for tuch a rail¬ 
road would be without established character, and with only limited 
capital stock, necessarily^ relies on getting credit to build its line. 
Such a policy is extremely paternalistic. Its enfoicement would 
unav oidably raise many serious questions of the rights granted in the 
charters of different States to railroad corporations, authorizing 
mergers, consolidations, reorganization, together with the issuance of 
capital stock and bonds. Why create controversy between federal 
and state authorities on a matter that does not pretend to exercise 
influence or control in the matter of the regulation of railroads by 
Congress, to secure for the public a just and reasonable rate charge, 
and to prevent preferential and discriminatory regulations? That is. 
the object and purpose of the present rate law, and should be the policy 
of all regulating railroad legislation. 

The apparent purpose of this proposed drastic and unprecedented 
legislation is to protect and guarantee the owners of capital stock of a 
railroad that has engaged in overcapitalization. Physical valuation of 
the property of the railroad, the minority suggested, would tend 
greatly as a beneficial factor to be considered in aiding the commission: 
to say what a fair rate was, and thus relieve it of relying entirely on 
the perplexing stock exchange legerdermain in the fluctuating market 
price of the capital stock of all the railroads of the country. 

It has been a matter of notoriety that this bill was 4k submitted” to 
the committee as 44 the administration bill.” Actuated by a sentiment 
of delicacy and an honorable restraint, imposed on us in referring to 
what occurs or is said in the privacy of discussion in the executive 
deliberations of the committee, we deemed it our duty to refrain from 
making any public reference to the bill by such title. But we feel now 
that we are authorized, even without the fear of political criticism, to 
speak of the unprecedented, unbecoming, and embarrassing circum¬ 
stances attending the consideration of this bill, because our justifica¬ 
tion is emphasized in the following statements taken from the report 
of the majority of the committee as follows: 

The bill under consideration (H. R. 17536) was introduced by Mr. Townsend on 
January 10 last, and as introduced is the bill drafted by the Attorney-General and 
referred to in the message of the President. 

Again, the report says on page 6: 

A number of amendments were suggested by the Attorney-General, who had drafted 
the original bill. 

Again, the report says on page 13: 

Subsequently new propositions were prepared and submitted by the Attorney- 
General relating to this subject-matter. 

Thus stands the record. Our fathers were wise men, and in fram¬ 
ing the great instrument of our Constitution ordained that all legisla- 


RAILROAD BILL. 


161 


tive powers granted shall be vested in a Congress; the judicial power 
shall be vested in one Supreme Court and such inferior courts as Con¬ 
gress may ordain or establish. The executive power is vested in a 
President, and section 3 of article 2, in defining the duties of the 
President, says: 

He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the 
Union and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge neces¬ 
sary and expedient. 

The manner by which the President shall approach the Congress on 
a legislative subject is plain, simple, and worthy of commendation. 
Such a tendenc 3 T as is here demonstrated, to direct influence or appeal 
to Congress by the President except in the channel provided by the 
Constitution, ought not to be condoned by silence. We challenge 
any Member of Congress to point to any instance in the past history 
of our Republic where a bill was submitted to a committee of the 
Congress, drawn at the instance and aid of the President of the United 
States and declared to be the President’s bill, and should be made 
a law. 

We declare, without the remotest desire to reflect on the character 
or ability of the President, that the real, true history of this bill, its 
preparation, its manipulation, is a mortifying and discouraging com¬ 
mentary upon the representatives of the people who are sent here to 
Washington to frame laws at the dictation of their best and most in¬ 
dependent judgment for the welfare of all the people of the country. 
Does any man pretend to sa} 7 , with the environments of Washington 
and the allurements and potentialities of official life, that a Member of 
Congress, being 4 * properly” advised that the President requested that 
such a bill become a law, is unmoved and uninfluenced by that informa¬ 
tion It is in no sense a free government and responsible to the wishes 
and interests of the people if Members of the Congress are not free, 
untrammeled by official influence, either to reject or accept any legis¬ 
lative measure suggested bv the President. 

How reprehensible would the entire country view it if the Congress 
by legislative act would even intimate what the Supreme Court should 
decide in a case pending before that august tribunal. Improper legis¬ 
lative interference, for obvious reasons, is more culpable than that. 
How does this matter show up on its face? Here is a bill admittedly, 
stating it most mildly, bearing the indorsement of the President and 
drafted by his Attorney-General, that transfers the vital and impor¬ 
tant work of the Commerce Commission to the Department of Justice, 
over which the Attorney-General, who drafts the bill with that pro¬ 
vision in it, presides. 

We merely mention this as a matter of significance and far-reaching 
importance in the conduct of the business of the Commerce Commis¬ 
sion. In referring to this public matter in this public way it is not 
with the hope or expectation to secure the defeat of the bill, but we 
do so hoping to give some encouragement to the maintenance of the 
independence of each of the great departments of our Government. 

W. C. Adamson, 
William Richardson, 

C. L. Bartlett, 
Andrew J. Peters. 


H. Rep. 923, 61-2-11 






VIEWS OF MR. RUSSELL AND MR. SIMS. 

We, the undersigned members of the minority of the Committee on 
Interstate and Foreign Commerce, are unable to agree in whole with 
the iC views of the minority,” and therefore submit the following: 

We can not agree to all that portion of the bill embraced in the first 
six sections, which provides for the creation of a court of commerce, 
and defines its jurisdiction, etc. 

First. We agree with the foregoing minority views in retaining 
in the law the language following: 

Provided, however, That the provisions of this act shall not apply to the transporta¬ 
tion of passengers or property, or to the receiving, delivering, storage, or handling of 
property wholly within one State and not shipped to or from a foreign country from 
or to any State or Territory, as aforesaid. 

But at the same time we wish to say that should this language be 
stricken out we do not assent to the proposition that striking it out 
will in any wise extend the federal control over interstate commerce 
in any particular. 

Second. We further agree to the above minority views, with refer¬ 
ence to section 7 of the bill, but our objections to this section would 
be greatly lessened, if not completely removed, if the section provided 
that the agreements between common carriers specified therein should 
receive the approval of the Interstate Commerce Commission before 
they become effective. 

Third. We think that all that portion of section 12, which forbids 
the consolidation of competing carriers, are salutary provisions of law, 
but we object to that portion of section 12, which permits common 
carriers to submit to the court of commerce the question as to whether 
they are competing and obtain from that court, prior to the merger of 
the said carriers, a decision on the question as to whether such merger 
would be in violation of law and which further makes the decision of 
the court of commerce upon this question an estoppel between all of 
the parties to the application, including the United States. 

Fourth. There are many portions of the bill which meet with our 
approval. We approve that portion of section 6a, which enjoins upon 
carrying corporations the didy of providing reasonable facilities for 
operating through routes and for the exchange, interchange, and return 
of cars used therein. 

We approve that portion of said section which enjoins upon common 
carriers the duty of establishing and enforcing just and reasonable 
classifications of property for transportation and just and reasonable 
regulations affecting such classifications, rates, or tariffs and the issu¬ 
ance, form, and substance of tickets, receipts, and bills of lading. 

Fifth. We approve section 6& as a step toward restoring the vitality 
of the long and short haul clause as it originally passed the House of 
Representatives in 1887. 

Sixth. We approve section 8, which makes it the duty of common 
carriers subject to the act to furnish upon request a written statement 

163 


164 


RAILROAD BILL. 


of the rate or charge applicable to a described shipment between 
stated places under the schedules to which such carrier is a party and 
which seeks to enforce this regulation by proper penalties. 

We approve those provisions of section 8#, which seek to make 
more certain the detection and punishment of rebates and discrimina¬ 
tions. 

We approve those provisions contained in section 8&, which empower 
the Interstate Commerce Commission on its own motion to institute 
an inquiry in such cases and as to such matters as the law only now 
permits to be instituted upon complaint or petition. 

Seventh. We believe that section 9, which seeks to amend section 15 
of the act to regulate commerce, should be adopted. 

Several amendments very beneficial to the public are contained in 
section 9, among which is the power conferred upon the Interstate 
Commerce Commission to enter upon a hearing of auy new rate, fare, 
or charge, or any new classification or practice, whether upon com¬ 
plaint or upon its own initiative, and which further empowers the com¬ 
mission to suspend the rate, charge, or classification pending such 
hearing for a period of one hundred and twent} r days be 3 ^ond the time 
when the rate, fare, or classification would otherwise take effect, and 
which also grants to the commission the power to make such order as 
to the rate, charge, or classification as may be just and reasonable, 
either before or after the rate, charge, or classification may be in effect. 

W e also think that those portions of this section will be a beneficial 
amendment of the law which grant to the shipper the right to route 
his freight and which grant to the Interstate Commerce Commission 
the power to establish through routes and joint classifications and joint 
rates as the maximum to be charged either upon complaint or upon 
its own initiative without complaint. 

Eighth. We also approve those sections of the bill adding new fea¬ 
tures to the interstate-commerce law by which the issuance of stocks 
and bonds by railroad corporations subject to federal regulation is 
safeguarded and controlled. 


Gordon Russell. 
T. W. Sims. 


\ 



LB Je ’10 































































